HHS: Biden's FY22 budget will invest in pandemic preparedness, expanding affordable care

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There are a host of healthcare-related challenges facing the U.S., including the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, mental and behavioral health challenges, the opioid addiction crisis and racial inequity in healthcare. It's with these challenges in mind that President Joe Biden's administration crafted a Fiscal Year 2022 budget that focuses investments in areas such as pandemic preparedness and expanding affordable healthcare.

HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said in a statement that the increased investment "supports families in areas such as behavioral health (mental health and substance use), maternal health, emerging health threats, science, data and research, tribal health, early child care and learning, and child welfare."

One of the main targets for investment is the Strategic National Stockpile, within the HHS Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, which has served a role in the nation's COVID-19 response by deploying personal protective equipment, ventilators and medical supplies to states and cities.

The budget provides $905 million for the stockpile, $200 million above FY 2021, to ensure the stockpile is ready to respond to future pandemic events and any other public health threats, by maintaining an inventory of critical medical supplies and modernizing the stockpile's distribution model. The budget also includes mandatory funding – $30 billion over four years – for HHS, the Department of Defense, and the Department of Energy for manufacturing and related activities.

The budget would also strengthen the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention by investing an additional $1.6 billion over the FY 2021 level for a total discretionary level of $8.7 billion. That's the largest budget authority increase for CDC in almost two decades, HHS said.

WHAT'S THE IMPACT?

The budget also places a premium on expanding access to affordable care through programs offered by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. The budget would build on the American Rescue Plan by extending premium subsidies, and one out of four enrollees on HealthCare.gov will be able to upgrade to a new or different plan that offers better out-of-pocket costs at the same or lower premiums compared to what they were paying before the ARP.

On top of that is an ongoing opportunity to enroll for healthcare coverage through a Special Enrollment Period will be available to individuals through August 15. As of May 10, more than one million additional Americans have signed up for health insurance in the Marketplace, and an additional three million returned to the Marketplace to obtain improved benefits, both in terms of reduced premiums and more affordable cost sharing, according to HHS.

Pediatric healthcare will also be a focus, with the budget investing $250 billion over 10 years to make childcare affordable. The budget also provides $19.8 billion in discretionary funding for the HHS' early care and education programs, $2.8 billion more than FY21. This includes $11.9 billion for Head Start, which helps young children enter kindergarten ready to learn.

Mental health and substance use disorders will also be in the crosshairs, due in part to both crises having accelerated during the pandemic. Preliminary data from 2020 suggests that overdose deaths, which were already increasing, accelerated during the public health emergency. More than 90,000 drug overdose deaths occurred in the U.S. in the 12 months ending in September 2020. That represents a year-over-year increase of close to 29%.

The budget provides $1.6 billion to the Community Mental Health Services Block Grant to respond to these issues – more than double the FY21 levels. 

From a cybersecurity perspective, the budget acknowledges existing threats, especially from other countries, and contains $9.8 billion in funding to secure federal civilian networks and protect the nation's infrastructure. This includes $110 million for the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, and $750 million in additional investments specifically aimed at responding to what it calls "the SolarWinds incident." 

The administration recognizes the need for investment in federal IT, and includes $500 million for the Technology Modernization Fund.

The amount of $153 million would go toward the CDC's Social Determinants of Health program to support states and territories in improving health equity and data collection for people of color. It would launch the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health, with $6.5 billion put toward federal research and development to drive transformational innovation in health research and to speed application and implementation of health breakthroughs.

The budget would also provide an increase of $65 million from the 2021 enacted level for "Reconnect," the Rural e‑Connectivity Program aimed at rural broadband.

THE LARGER TREND: REACTION

The budget announcement garnered reaction from the healthcare industry, with Dr. Bruce Siegel, president and CEO of America's Essential Hospitals, saying it takes a positive step toward health equity by targeting disparities and the social determinants of health.

"We applaud the administration's desire to improve health by meeting basic needs, such as housing and education, and confronting maternal mortality, opioid use, and other threats to the underrepresented people our hospitals serve," said Siegel. "The proposed allocation of $25 million to improve health equity, including to address the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on communities of color, is particularly encouraging."

He was disappointed, however, that the budget includes policies from the previous administration that, in his view, would undermine the 340B Drug Pricing Program.

The Campaign for Sustainable Rx Pricing, meanwhile, praised the budget for committing to lower prescription drug prices.

"From the campaign trail to the joint address to Congress, to this budget, the president has consistently acknowledged the urgent need for Washington to hold Big Pharma accountable and deliver relief for American patients," said CSRRxP.

The House Ways and Means Committee will hold a hearing on the proposed budget with Becerra on Tuesday, June 8 at 10 a.m. ET via Cisco Webex video conferencing. A live webcast will be available on the Committee's website when the hearing begins.

Twitter: @JELagasse
Email the writer: jeff.lagasse@himssmedia.com