President Trump's FY 2019 Budget Includes Changes to Medicare, Medicaid

A statement from U.S Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar said President Trump's fiscal year 2019 budget "makes investments and reforms that are vital to making our health and human services programs work for Americans and to sustaining them for future generations. In particular, it supports our four priorities here at HHS: addressing the opioid crisis, bringing down the high price of prescription drugs, increasing the affordability and accessibility of health insurance, and improving Medicare in ways that push our health system toward paying for value rather than volume." Azar stated Trump's budget supports the diligent work that HHS staff are already doing to achieve these goals. "In particular, the budget's efforts to reduce the high cost of prescription drugs, especially for America's seniors, are a reflection of President Trump's deep commitment to addressing this important issue," Azar said. The HHS Budget in Brief is available here . The budget calls for major cuts for many discretionary programs, as well as hundreds of billions of dollars in savings through amendments to Medicare and Medicaid, reports Politico Pro . The request would expand Medicare's policy on site-neutral payments, in which providers are paid the same amount of money no matter where they deliver care, saving taxpayer up to $80 billion over 10 years. Paying hospital-owned doctor practices the same as independent practices would save an additional $34 billion. The White House also wants to "modify hospital payments for uncompensated care," which it forecasts would save slightly less than $70 billion. Another $37 billion would be saved via changes in how Medicare covers bad debt, saving another $37 billion. Trump also wants to roll back the Affordable Care Act expansion, instead pushing a plan to provide healthcare funding in block grants to states. The budget also proposes charging care recipient higher co-pays for emergency room visits and strengthening requirements that Medicaid recipients show immigration status before enrolling. In addition, the proposal calls for a revamp of medical malpractice laws, which Republicans contend is necessary to reduce frivolous litigation and expensive "defensive" medicine. Click here for an agency-by-agency look at the budget proposal.