On March 28, President Joe Biden released his 2023 proposed budget for the U.S. government. The $5.8 trillion budget proposes $127.3 billion in discretionary spending and another $1.7 trillion in mandatory spending for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The budget requests for HHS, which highlight pandemic preparation, behavioral health, and health equity, represent a 1.4% increase in spending compared to fiscal year 2022 levels. The president’s proposed budget also communicates support for a temporary extension of the Medicare telehealth flexibilities but does not indicate the length of the extension or identify any specific flexibilities.
Key proposals include:
Physician Conversion Factor
The budget proposes to allow the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to update the conversion factor one year earlier than currently allowed (2025 v 2026) for Advanced Alternative Payment Model (APM) participants (+0.75%) and non-participants (+0.25%), noting this would ensure that 2025 isn’t a year without any incentive payments. ($3.5 billion over 10 years).
Pandemic Preparedness
The administration’s budget proposals make a significant investment in pandemic readiness by expanding access to and coverage for vaccines, funding infectious disease research, and updating the data collection efforts of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Behavioral Health
The Biden administration’s proposals include almost $21 billion to expand the behavioral health workforce, increase access to mental health care, broaden access to telehealth services, and improve mental health parity.
Telehealth
Telehealth-related proposals can be found in the budget requests for multiple agencies.
Health Equity
The president’s budget proposals call for greater investments in community-based health centers and services, increasing diversity in the health care workforce, and a variety of programs, including reducing disparities in maternal health.
The AASM continues to advocate for appropriate reimbursement and for making telehealth expansion permanent. Questions regarding the proposed budget and AASM advocacy efforts can be sent to the AASM health policy team at coding@aasm.org.
