President Barack Obama submitted on Monday a $3.8 trillion federal budget request to Congress for fiscal year 2011. The president said he plans to make healthcare reform – and healthcare IT in particular – a major part of his long-term plans to put America back on track financially.
In keeping with the president's past support of healthcare IT advancement, this year's fiscal budget request includes $110 million to strengthen healthcare IT policy coordination and research activities.
Last February, the Administration backed more than $20.6 billion over 10 years to advance healthcare IT adoption in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA)
Rob Nabors, deputy director of the White House Office of Management and Budget said in a Monday press conference that the president plans to reduce the federal deficit through healthcare reform.
"Getting health reform passed is critical," Nabors said, adding the administration is confident Congress will pass a reform bill soon.
During his presidential campaign, Obama touted healthcare IT as a platform for reforming American healthcare and bending the healthcare cost curve. Both Republicans and Democrats have supported healthcare IT as a way of saving lives, preventing duplicative testing, coordinating care and promoting evidence-based care.
This year, the president is requesting $81.3 billion for the Department of Health and Human Services, a $1.7 billion increase over what Congress approved for HHS in fiscal year 2010.
Obama is requesting $286 million for research that compares the effectiveness of different medical options, building on the expansion of this research begun under ARRA.
The president's fiscal year 2011 budget includes $78 million, an increase of $17 million, for the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) to advance the adoption of electronic health records. According to HHS, the increase will enable ONC to lead and coordinate federal health IT efforts, while implementing and evaluating Recovery Act health IT programs.
Obama is also calling for $1.7 billion to fight fraud at HHS, including $561 million in Health Care Fraud and Abuse Control (HCFAC) discretionary funding, an increase of $250 million over the FY 2010 enacted level.
According to HHS, estimates indicate the funding investments proposed for fraud and abuse control will generate $9.9 billion in savings from increased recoveries and prevention efforts. In addition, the president proposes legislative and administrative changes that would save $14.7 billion in Medicare and Medicaid over ten years.
HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said Obama's HHS budget requests would protect the health and safety of America's families.
"Under this budget, we will provide the health and human services that Americans depend on more effectively, slashing waste and focusing programs on results," she said. "And we'll make many of the necessary investments our country has been putting off for years, including investments in fighting health care fraud, strengthening our public health infrastructure, and getting serious about health and wellness."
