DEBT LIMIT DEAL AFFECTS DOLLARS FOR RESEARCH
June 12, 2023
Latest Advocacy News
- The AAN submitted a Formal National Coverage Determination (NCD) Reconsideration Request to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services regarding the existing NCD on Monoclonal Antibodies Directed Against Amyloid for the Treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease [CAG-00460N]. The AAN had originally submitted a request on February 2 and has been engaged in frequent communication with CMS since submission to refine and expand on our recommendation to promote access for appropriate patients if lecanemab were to receive traditional approval in the coming weeks.
- Take action! Both the House and Senate are leading letters to CMS urging the swift finalization of a rule on prior authorization. The letter also encourages CMS to make additional updates that would align the rule more closely with the Seniors’ Timely Access to Care Act introduced last Congress. Tell your legislators to sign onto the letter and support prior authorization reform.
- With many state legislatures' 2023 sessions coming to a close, the Michael J. Fox Foundation (MJFF) for Parkinson’s Research has made tremendous progress advancing legislation to enact Parkinson’s disease registries in states across the country. To date, registries have been passed/established in California, Maryland, Nebraska, South Carolina, Utah, Washington, and West Virginia. The AAN has been active in supporting this important initiative to advance Parkinson’s disease research. If you are interested in helping your elected officials learn more about Parkinson’s policy and research priorities, join the MJFF’s policy network and follow #AANadvocacy for more updates.
Issue in Focus
On June 4, President Biden signed into law the bipartisan deal lifting the debt ceiling until 2025. While we applaud the bipartisan effort to prevent the nation from defaulting on our debt, the deal presents some concerns to the research community as it creates stifling caps on FY24 and FY25 non-defense discretionary (NDD) spending.
NDD spending is the source of funds for NIH, AHRQ, FDA, and other research agencies, and in whole represents less than one-sixth of the federal budget. NDD funding is slated to freeze at $637 billion―$1 billion below the current FY23 levels. These caps will make it incredibly difficult to fund essential medical research at NIH, which was already on track to outpace the allocated funding.
The AAN was pleased to see that veterans’ health funding is set at President Biden’s requested level, with defense funding seeing an increase of about three percent over FY23 levels. While we are reassured with the FY23 funding for the VA Neurology Centers of Excellence, we will continue advocating for increased funding with our patient group partners.
Following passage of the debt ceiling deal, congressional appropriators have begun conversations on specific allocations for the various bills they are required to pass in regular order before January 1. If they fail to pass these bills, there will be a mandatory cut of one percent across all programs for the next fiscal year as imposed by the debt limit deal. The budget outline for FY24 and FY25 allows for a one-percent growth each year and includes a nonbinding outline for FY26-29 funding.
What We're Reading
- Merck sues over new Medicare drug pricing powers (The Hill)
- Why Medicare should try medically tailored meals (Op-Ed, The Boston Globe)
- More states embrace drug price boards to curb health costs (AXIOS)
- Burnout threatens primary care workforce and doctors’ mental health (CBS News)