On February 12, President Donald Trump released a proposed U.S. budget for 2019 that includes a number of cuts to healthcare, including a 21% decrease in the budget of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
Under the proposal, HHS would receive $68.4 billion, a $17.9 billion decrease compared to 2017, according to the document. The National Institutes of Health would receive approximately $35.5 billion, about $1.4 billion higher than 2018 levels. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention would receive $11.1 billion, a cut of roughly $878 million below 2018's levels, while the U.S. Food and Drug Administration would receive $5.8 billion, an increase of $473 million over current levels.
But a crucial element of the proposed budget would be to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which would be accomplished in a "two-part approach": enacting legislation modeled on the Graham-Cassidy-Heller-Johnson bill "as soon as possible" and allowing states to eliminate the ACA's benefits requirement.
"The president is committed to rescuing states, consumers, and taxpayers from the failures of Obamacare, and supporting states as they transition to more sustainable healthcare programs that provide appropriate choices for their citizens," according to the document.
