Earlier this month, President Obama announced his priorities for the FY 2016 federal budget. Part of the budget is devoted to improving health care for Americans, through the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, and through other reforms. The specific areas being targeted, and the goals under each one, are listed below.
Supporting Implementation of the Affordable Care Act
- Preserving coverage through CHIP (Children’s Health Insurance Program)
Strengthening Medicare and Medicaid
- Expanding health coverage by improving access to Medicaid, in addition to CHIP coverage and services
- Promoting access to Medicaid long-term care services and supports (LTSS)
- Improving care delivery for low-income beneficiaries under Medicare and Medicaid
- Encouraging high-quality, efficient care among providers of Medicare
- Improving health outcomes for children and youth in foster care
- Reducing cost growth by encouraging beneficiaries to use high-value services
- Improving quality, and decreasing drug costs, for federal health programs
- Lowering Medicaid drug costs for both states and the federal government
- Reducing fraud, waste, and abuse in Medicaid and Medicare
- Requiring prior authorization for power mobility devices and advanced imaging
- Directing states to track high prescribers and utilizers of prescription drugs in Medicaid
- Backing efforts to investigate and prosecute allegations of abuse or neglect of Medicaid beneficiaries, specifically in non-institutional health care settings and in the U.S. territories
Reforming Health Care Delivery System
- Modifying health care payment structures to reward providers for optimal care
- Supporting practice redesign and creating better capacity to improve care delivery
- Improving access to information, in order to encourage date-driven decision-making by providers, consumers, and businesses
Improving Public Health, Safety, and Security
- Increasing funding to combat abuse of prescription drugs and heroin
- Modernizing the country’s food-safety system
- Investing in Native American health care
- Undertaking a CARB (Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria) initiative
- Increasing efforts to prevent, detect, and respond to infectious diseases, both at home and abroad
- Strengthening preparedness for all health threats, including naturally-occurring dangers and intentional attacks
Strengthening Health Centers and the Health Workforce
- Improving access to health care services
- Improving access to providers of high-quality health care
To view the FY 2016 budget, click here. The initiatives that are specific to health care are in the “Investing in America’s Future” section, on pages 60-67.