U.S. House and Senate negotiators on Sunday settled on an estimated $1 trillion spending bill that would keep the government open through Sept. 30, 2017, according to a Los Angeles Times report.
Here are six things to know about the bill's healthcare provisions.
1. The compromise measure calls for a 6 percent budget increase for the National Institutes of Health, according to the Los Angeles Times. This $2 billion funding increase includes $400 million in additional monies to research Alzheimer's disease and $476 million in additional funding for the National Cancer Institute, reports STAT.
2. The increased NIH funding counters the White House's previously proposed $1.2 billion budget cut to the NIH for 2017. NIH funding for 2018 is not part of the spending bill, according to STAT. The White House has proposed cutting $5.8 billion in funds to the NIH, or roughly 19 percent of its total budget, for 2018.
3. While Republicans sought to cut funding for Planned Parenthood, the spending bill includes money for the organization, reports Los Angeles Times. GOP lawmakers may still seek funding cuts for Planned Parenthood in the 2018 budget, STAT notes.
4. Additionally, the spending bill includes about $800 million total to combat opioid addiction, a significant increase from the $150 million in the last budget, according to STAT.
5. The bill also calls for a permanent extension of a health insurance program for coal miners, as well as $295 million in Medicaid monies for Puerto Rico, reports STAT. Puerto Rico has sought additional Medicaid monies as the U.S. territory will soon run out of money from a $6.4 billion federal grant allocated to fund Medicaid for fiscal years 2011-2019.
6. Lawmakers could vote on the bipartisan deal early this week, according to Los Angeles Times.
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