President’s FY13 Budget
On Monday, February 13, President Obama released his FY13 federal budget proposal, which included a positive message for Community Health Centers.
Community Health Centers: For the Health Centers program, the President’s budget puts forward a strong overall number - $3.1 billion, or a $300 million increase. He gets there by keeping discretionary health center funding flat at $1.6 billion and utilizing the entire CHC fund allocation for FY13 which equals $1.5 billion. If the entire $300 million in new funding was allocated in FY13, it would allow for expanded access to care for 2.5 million patients. However, the policy in the President’s Budget regarding health centers is more complicated. The budget proposes that out of the $300 million increase for the program, only $20 million should be utilized for growth (25 NAPs). The budget proposes to “save” the remaining $280 million for future years to create a “glide path” that would allow for moderate growth using the ACA fund over a longer time period than the law originally envisioned (well after 2015) and eliminating the funding cliff. According to NACHC, this would significantly and unnecessarily curtail growth prematurely since there are other options for eliminating the cliff and ensuring stability for health centers. Overall, the President’s total funding number for health centers is a very solid starting point in the FY13 process. It also means the Administration is thinking about ensuring the continued stability and growth for health centers well into the future.
Medicaid: The budget leaves the Medicaid entitlement intact; no block grants or caps. However, it does include the President’s previous proposals to change how CMS would pay states for their federal Medicaid share. This includes phasing down Medicaid provider taxes (Illinois’ hospital assessment program) beginning in 2015 and simplifying the federal match formula into a so-called “blended rate” for FMAP beginning in 2017.
Please note that the President’s proposed budget is just the beginning of the Congressional budget process, which is likely to stretch into the end of the calendar year once again. We will be sharing our legislative and budget priorities with the Illinois Congressional Delegation during the Policy & Issues Forum in March and encourage all members to attend. At the State level, please note the upcoming dates. Next week will be particularly busy with the Governor’s Budget Address and the House hearing on IPHCA’s Parity Legislation – HB 4585. Please be on the lookout for Advocacy Updates and Alerts next week. Have a great weekend and as always, feel free to contact me with questions or concerns.
Upcoming Dates
- April 17-18: IPHCA State Advocacy Day Events