Trump's $4.1 trillion budget: 9 healthcare takeaways

President Donald Trump's first full budget proposal will include $3.6 trillion in spending cuts to balance the budget in the next decade.  

Although the full $4.1 trillion budget plan, titled "A New Foundation for American Greatness," will be released Tuesday, Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney briefed White House reporters Monday on the budget.

Here are nine of the key proposals related to healthcare in President Trump's budget proposal for fiscal year 2018, which begins Oct. 1.

1. Medicaid cuts. President Trump's budget includes $610 billion in Medicaid cuts over 10 years. The reduction is in addition to the $839 billion pulled from Medicaid under the proposed American Health Care Act, the ACA repeal and replacement bill that phases out Medicaid expansion, according to The Hill.

2. Repeal and replace the ACA. The budget assumes passage of the AHCA. The Trump administration expects to save $250 billion over 10 years by repealing and replacing the ACA. These savings are in addition to the $610 billion in proposed Medicaid cuts in the budget, according to The New York Times.  

3. Medicare unscathed. The budget makes no changes to the Medicare program or to core Social Security benefits, two programs President Trump vowed during his campaign to leave alone, according to The Hill.

4. Reduction in CHIP funding. Under the budget, $5.8 billion would be cut from the Children's Health Insurance Program over 10 years, according to a budget document posted by The Washington Post

5. NIH funding cut. Under the budget proposal, the National Institutes of Health budget would be reduced from $31.8 billion to $26 billion, according to The Washington Post

6. Cuts to CDC funding. Several CDC programs would be hit with cuts under the budget proposal. One of the biggest cuts is to the agency's chronic disease prevention programs, which would have funding reduced by $222 million, according to The Washington Post.

7. Veterans Choice Program extended. The budget calls for extension of the Veterans Choice Program, which allows veterans to go outside of the Veterans Affairs system for care. Under the budget, $29 billion more would be spent on this program over 10 years, according to The New York Times.

8. Medical malpractice limits. The budget includes medical malpractice reforms, such as capping awards for noneconomic damages, that are intended to reduce the practice of defensive medicine. The Trump administration expects these changes to save Medicare $31 billion over a decade, according to The New York Times.

9. Funds substance abuse treatment. The budget would allocate $500 million to expand access to treatments, including medication-assisted treatment, for those suffering from opioid addiction. The budget also includes $1.9 billion in block grants for states to use for substance abuse treatment and $25 million for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration for expanding access to critical interventions. SAMHSA would also receive an additional $24 million to equip first responders with overdose reversing drugs.  

 

 

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