Biden Requests Billions to Innovate Mental Health Services and Accelerate Research
This week, President Joe Biden released his fiscal year 2023 budget, which includes investments in strengthening mental health services, innovating health research and laying the groundwork to respond to future pandemics.
Specifically, the budget requests $81.7 billion in mandatory funding over five years across the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the National Institutes of Health and the Food and Drug Administration to support transforming U.S. capabilities to prepare for and respond to any future pandemics.
The budget also provides $40 billion for the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response to invest in advanced development and manufacturing of vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics.
A major investment of $5 billion would accelerate innovation through the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health to enhance health, lengthen life, reduce illness and spur biotechnology production.
The budget also requests $51.7 billion over a decade to improve mental health services, and suggests eliminating the 190-day limit on psychiatric stays imposed by Medicare, as well as moving coverage for vaccines into Part B.
A total of $127.3 billion in discretionary funding is requested in the budget for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which is a nearly 27% increase from the 2021 level.
In a budget brief, HHS indicates this also includes funds for refugees and unaccompanied children, with a new mandatory contingency fund that would provide additional funds during a surge.
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