President Biden Signed A $1.7 Trillion Spending Bill; Here’s What It Means For Your Healthcare

Just before funding for the federal government was set to expire on December 23, 2022, Congress passed—and President Biden signed—the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023. An omnibus spending bill is a combination of appropriations bills that each authorize funds for different parts of the government. The omnibus package funds several federal agencies that are critical to the U.S. healthcare system. Specifically, the new package provides $120.7 billion to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), an increase of nearly $10 billion. HHS administers key healthcare functions, including Healthcare.gov, Medicare, and Medicaid as well as the National Institutes of Health, the FDA, and the CDC. In the new bill, $47.5 billion will go to the NIH, a $2.5 billion increase focused on increasing investments in research on Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, opioids, and health disparities. The Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) will also get $1.5 billion to fuel research into Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, and cancer. Learn more from Forbes here.