Obama Signs Two-Year Budget Deal With ACA, Medicare Provisions

CAL/AAEM News Service calaaem.news.service1 at gmail.com
Sat Nov 14 20:55:18 PST 2015


       

 

November 3, 2015

 

Obama Signs Two-Year Budget Deal With ACA, Medicare Provisions

 

 

 
<http://www.californiahealthline.org/articles/2015/11/3/obama-signs-twoyear-
budget-deal-with-aca-medicare-provisions> California Healthline

 

 

On Monday, President Obama signed into law a two-year budget deal (HR 1314)
that raises the country's spending limits and makes changes to several
health care programs, The Hill reports (Fabian, The Hill, 11/2).

 

Both the House and Senate voted to approve the bipartisan budget agreement
last week.

 

Budget Details

 

The budget deal applies to fiscal years 2016 and 2017. The deal increases
spending caps for domestic agencies by $50 billion during the first year and
$30 billion during the second year. An extra $32 billion in spending over
two years will come from an overseas contingency account, bringing the total
budget agreement to $112 billion.

 

The agreement also suspends the country's $18.1 trillion debt limit through
March 2017.

 

Health Care Provisions

 

The budget agreement lessens, but does not eliminate, a premium increase for
about 15 million Medicare beneficiaries. Under the agreement, monthly
Medicare Part B premiums will increase to about $120, rather than to $159,
for roughly 30% of beneficiaries. Meanwhile, annual deductibles for all
Medicare beneficiaries will increase to about $167, rather than to $223.

 

Funding to offset portions of the projected increases will come from a loan
to the supplemental medical insurance trust fund. The loan will be repaid
through a $3 monthly surcharge on premiums for the 30% of beneficiaries who
will experience the increase. Beneficiaries with higher incomes, who also
pay higher Medicare premiums, will see larger surcharges.

 

Further, the agreement extends a two-percentage-point reduction in Medicare
payments to physicians and hospitals through the end of a 10-year budget,
which will fund an estimated $25.8 billion of the deal.

 

The budget agreement also:

 

*  Prevents a cut to Social Security disability benefits;

*  Eliminates an Affordable Care Act mandate that required large companies
to automatically enroll employees in health plans unless the workers opted
out of the coverage;

*  Requires generic drugmakers to give greater discounts to Medicaid if
prices of the drugs rise more quickly than inflation; and

*  Bars physician practices that are not part of a hospital's main campus
from billing through the hospital's outpatient system (California
Healthline, 10/30).

 

Obama's Comments

 

Obama said the budget agreement puts the country "on a responsible path" to
spur economic growth. He praised Democrats and Republicans for working
"together to set up a responsible, long-term budget process" and producing a
spending plan "that reflects our values, that grows our economy, creates
jobs [and] keeps American safe" (The Hill, 11/2).

 

However, Obama noted that lawmakers have more work to do to avoid a
government shutdown when a stopgap spending bill currently funding the
federal government expires on Dec. 11. He said, "This is just the first step
between now and the middle of December," adding, "The appropriators are
going to have to do their job; they're going to have to come up with
spending bills" (Krawzak, Roll Call, 11/2).

 

According to The Hill, the Obama administration and Republicans in Congress
could clash over certain spending measures, such as an effort to strip
Planned Parenthood of federal funding.  Still, Obama said he is "confident"
that Congress can pass the appropriations measures "on time" (The Hill,
11/2). 

 

 

 

Jeff Wells
Deputy Editor, CAL/AAEM News Service

 

Brian Potts MD, MBA
Managing Editor, CAL/AAEM News Service

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