President Obama’s Budget Sets Health Care Priorities For 2017 as Affordable Care Act Reduces Deficit

Washington, D.C. – The President’s proposed federal budget for FY 2017 released today contains several key health care initiatives President Obama wants to pursue in the final year of his Administration. Among the President’s proposals: extending CHIP funding through 2019; extending full Medicaid coverage to pregnant and post-partum Medicaid beneficiaries; offering the 19 states that have not accepted Medicaid expansion the same three years of full federal financing that expansion states received, and bringing increased transparency to prescription drug pricing. Following is the statement of Ron Pollack, executive director of Families USA, on the President’s proposals.

“Budgets are not just static collections of numbers, but road maps that detail where we need to go as a nation. And the President’s budget charts a course toward compassion that should be a part of this election year debate.

“This budget builds on the success of the Affordable Care Act, which has helped millions of Americans get health insurance and slowed the rate of health care spending for both private and public insurance programs. This not only puts money in consumers’ pockets, it has helped lower the federal deficit by billions more than originally estimated. It also protects and expands safety net programs that ensure the most vulnerable among us are not left to fend for themselves in their times of need.

“This budget also contains a variety of proposals to rein in the growth of prescription drug prices, which will be a boon to consumers as well as state and federal budgets.

“Although this is the President’s last year in office, these proposals could help strengthen our health care system far into the future, and candidates for all federal offices should be asked their position on these key issues.”