States Would Get More Medicaid Funds Under President’s Budget Plan
On Monday, President Obama unveiled his fiscal year 2011 budget proposal, which White House officials estimate would cost a total of $3.8 trillion, the New York Times reports (Calmes/Pear, New York Times, 1/31).
Of the total cost, $1.4 trillion would be allocated for domestic and military spending, over which Congress and Obama have direct control, while the remaining funds will be directed to entitlement programs and interest on the nation's $12.4 trillion debt.
The plan would increase the budget for many programs at NIH and the National Science Foundation (Calmes, New York Times, 2/1).
More Funds for Medi-Cal?
The budget proposal also would provide $25 billion in additional funding to states' Medicaid programs, according to a White House official familiar with the plan.
The additional funding would extend for six months a program in the 2009 economic stimulus package that called for the federal government to cover a greater portion of the costs borne by states to expand Medicaid coverage.
In addition, larger states such as California and New York would receive the most funding under the plan (Taylor, AP/San Francisco Chronicle, 1/29).
Spending Freeze
The budget proposal, which is slated to take effect on Oct. 1, also is expected to include a three-year spending freeze on federal spending for a range of domestic programs.
The spending freeze would not apply to entitlement programs, such as Medicare or Medicaid, or Veterans Affairs and national defense-related programs (New York Times, 1/31).
The freeze would affect about $447 billion annually in spending allocations for the targeted domestic programs. A White House official estimated that the plan initially would save $10 billion to $15 billion and as much as $250 billion over the next decade (California Healthline, 1/26).
Proposal Assumes Passage of Health Reform Legislation
The budget proposal also includes an assumption that Congress will approve health care reform legislation, including significant cuts to the growth of Medicare spending.
Although the White House and the Congressional Budget Office have projected that health reform would lower projected deficits in the long term, the reductions are expected to be relatively small compared with total deficits expected in the next 10 years (New York Times, 1/31). This is part of the California Healthline Daily Edition, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.