Weekly Policy Update: Biden’s Spending Proposal Signals Key Healthcare Priorities

Last week the White House unveiled a $1.5 trillion discretionary spending request for the coming fiscal year. The request, which is only part of the President’s full budget proposal, is a sharp departure from the fiscal priorities of the Trump administration, which focused on increasing military spending and reducing funding for domestic programs supporting education, health and the environment.

Here’s what you should know about the key healthcare provisions.

The request contains $131.7 billion for the Department of Health & Human Servicesa 23.5% increase from the 2021 spending levels enacted by Congress. This includes:

Critical investments to help prepare for the next pandemic

  • $8.7 billion for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), an increase of $1.6 billion over the enacted level in 2021—the largest annual jump for CDC in nearly two decades
  • $905 million for the Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) to replenish critical medical supplies and continue restructuring efforts initiated during the pandemic
  • Investment in the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to augment its organizational capacity
  • $51 billion for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), an increase of $9 billion over 2021 funding levels. This includes $6.5 billion to establish a new agency called the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H), which would initially focus on researching cancer, diabetes, and Alzheimer’s

Funding to address racial disparities and advance health equity

  • $8.5 billion for the Indian Health Service (IHS) within HHS, a $2.2 billion increase from previous spending levels
  • $153 million for CDC’s Social Determinants of Health program$200 million to reduce the maternal mortality rate and race-based disparities in outcomes

Additional healthcare spending priorities

  • $10.7 billion to address the opioid crisis
  • $670 million to end the HIV/AIDS epidemic
  • $1.6 billion for mental healthcare

HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra testified before the House Appropriations Committee this week, but with the majority of the budget request still in the works, the focus of the hearing was mostly on policy commitments.

Throughout the federal budget process, CBSA will keep our members updated on the priorities that impact life sciences in Colorado.

Categories: CBSA News