A More Detailed Looked at President Biden’s Budget

After releasing the “skinny” version of President Biden’s proposed budget for 2022 earlier this month, the White House released its full budget proposal. While the toplines remain the same, this new document has more details on President Biden’s vision for health care. As a reminder, the President’s budget proposal is a symbolic document given Congress’ authority over federal appropriations, but it shows where federal agencies are likely to focus their efforts over the year and can shed light on President Biden’s top priorities.

Specific to health care, Politico Pro reports that the plan “emphasizes the need to pour money into the nation’s public health system and preparedness efforts, including setting aside $6.5 billion to establish a new medical research agency within the National Institutes of Health. […] But the budget plan steers clear of major policy changes that Biden campaigned on, such as creating a public insurance option or lowering Medicare’s eligibility age. The president is instead calling on Congress to produce a public option, as well as pursue bills that would expand Medicare’s benefits and eligibility and would lower drug prices.”

Overall, the proposed budget “would increase HHS’ budget to $133.7 billion, from the $108.4 billion enacted in fiscal 2021. CDC would get $8.7 billion in discretionary funding to improve its preparedness for future health crises. […] The proposed investments represent a sharp reversal from the Trump era, where the administration repeatedly sought to slash health spending and rein in massive programs like Medicare and Medicaid.”