The US Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, Assistant Secretary for Financial Resources Ellen Murray, and HHS agency leaders gathered on April 10, to announce President Obama's proposed HHS budget for Fiscal Year (FY) 2014. The FY 2014 HHS Budget in Brief document is available online at www.hhs.gov/budget.

The President's proposed FY 2014 Budget for HHS totals $967.3 billion in outlays and proposes $80.1 billion in discretionary budget authority. Some areas of note:

• Support for the implementation, operation, and oversight of Health Insurance Exchanges, also known as Marketplaces;
• Funding for 40 new health center sites;
• Increased emphasis on and funding for patient safety research;
• Funding to address access to mental health services for students and young adults, as well as increase the behavioral health workforce;
• A $100 million Alzheimer's Disease initiative targeted to expanding research, education, and outreach on Alzheimer's disease, and to improving patient, family, and caregiver support;
• Additional support for the Food and Drug Administration to ensure the safety, effectiveness, and timely availability of medical products including prescription drugs, generic drugs, biologics, and devices;
• Investment in the modernization of CDC's Infectious disease surveillance technology;
• Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) estimated FY 2014 budget of $854.3 billion (mandatory and discretionary outlays), a net increase of $60.2 billion above the FY 2013 level.
• Medicare savings proposals totaling $371.0 billion over 10 years;
• Medicaid savings proposals totaling $22.1 billion over 10 years; and
• Enhanced funding to further efforts to combat fraud and waste, as well as expanding CMS Program Integrity efforts.

Watch Medigram for further developments about the federal budget debate.

For more information, contact Colin Ford at MSMS at 517-336-5737 or cford@msms.org.