President Biden releases the budget for fiscal year 2023; health care spending is projected to hit $6.8 trillion in 2030; rates of prediabetes on the rise in children.
In President Biden’s budget for fiscal year 2023, the administration called for more funding directed at pandemic preparedness, with an overall increase of nearly 27% in HHS discretionary funding compared with 2021, The New York Times reports. Large portions of the budget will build on funding passed by Congress earlier this month, while nearly $82 billion is proposed for HHS over 5 years and is specifically earmarked for emerging biological catastrophes. The money would also be used to expand clinical trial infrastructure and manufacturing capacity. Additional funding will be directed at reducing racial disparities in the country’s maternal mortality rates, bolstering Indian Health Service funding, and strengthening behavioral health care.
New national health expenditure projections published in Health Affairs estimate the nation will spend $6.8 trillion on health care by 2030. Spending growth for 2021 was projected at 4.2% compared with the 9.7% growth seen in 2020, which was driven by inflows from the federal government to mitigate the impacts of COVID-19. For 2022 to 2024, average rates of health spending growth at 4.9% are expected, in addition to 5.3% expected for 2025 through 2030. If current trends continue, spending will likely grow at about the rate of inflation over the next decade, Axios reports. Over the same period, gross domestic product growth is projected to reach 5.1% annually, keeping the health share of the economy just under 20%.
New data show rates of prediabetes in American children have more than doubled in about 20 years, CNN reports, with increases seen regardless of income, ethnicity, and education. The JAMA Pediatrics study found that between 1999 and 2018, rates of prediabetes in adolescents rose from 11.6% to 28.2%. The condition is a risk factor for several chronic diseases, including type 2 diabetes and heart disease, while around 80% of adults with the condition are unaware they have it. The study did not explore causes behind the trend, but experts noted introducing a healthy lifestyle—complete with physical activity, spending time outside, and getting enough sleep—at a young age can help reduce the risk in children.
Congress Urged to Repeal Comstock Act Threatening Reproductive Rights and Public Health
May 16th 2024In a joint letter addressed to Congress, Healthcare Across Borders, Take Back the Court Action Fund, and UltraViolet Action called out the resurgence of the Comstock Act, urging immediate action to repeal this century-old law that threatens reproductive rights and public health in the US.
Read More
Frameworks for Advancing Health Equity: Urban Health Outreach
May 9th 2024In the series debut episode of "Frameworks for Advancing Health Equity," Mary Sligh, CRNP, and Chelsea Chappars, of Allegheny Health Network, explain how the Urban Health Outreach program aims to improve health equity for individuals experiencing homelessness.
Listen
Panel Addresses Minority Physician Shortage, Maternal Health at Senate Committee Hearing
May 15th 2024The senate hearing held by the US Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, led by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I, Vermont), chairman of the committee, and ranking member Sen. Bill Cassidy, MD, (R, Louisiana), addressed the critical issue of physician and health care worker shortages, as well as the maternal health crisis, in the US.
Read More
House lawmakers are expected to advance a contracting ban today on 5 Chinese research firms; US government officials temporarily relaxed strict guidelines on how laboratories handle, store, and transport H5N1 bird flu samples; a recent report found that the number of abortions occurring in the US continued to grow despite bans.
Read More