President Biden released his Fiscal Year 2024 Budget on March 9. Highlights from the budget, include:
- Extending the solvency of Medicare’s Hospital Insurance (HI) Trust Fund by at least 25 years into the 2050s
- Increasing the Medicare tax rate on income above $400,000 from 3.8 percent to 5 percent
- Closing “loopholes” in existing Medicare taxes and dedicating the Medicare net investment income tax to the HI Trust Fund
- Expanding the Inflation Reduction Act’s (IRA) price limits by increasing the number of drugs subject to limits and bringing drugs into the program sooner after they launch
- Extending the IRA Medicare inflation rebates to commercial health insurance and employer plans
- Capping Part D cost-sharing on certain generic drugs, such as those used to treat chronic conditions, to $2 per prescription per month
- Eliminating cost-sharing for three mental health or other behavioral health visits per year
- Requiring parity between physical health and mental health coverage in Medicare
- Requiring coverage and payment for new types of Medicare providers and platforms that deliver mental health services
- Removing unnecessary limitations on beneficiary access to psychiatric hospitals
This month’s Horizon Highlight examines the budget process from start to finish.
