On April 10, 2013, President Obama released his budget proposal for fiscal year (FY) 2014 (the Budget). The President reiterated his long-standing goal of reducing the deficit by $4.3 trillion over 10 years and his willingness to do so in part by saving $400 billion from changes to federal health programs, including Medicare and Medicaid. According to the President’s budget document, these savings would be enough to cancel the sequestration required by the Budget Control Act of 2011, which went into effect in March 2013.

The President’s Budget contains a number of notable proposals affecting Medicare payment to hospitals, post-acute providers, labs, pharmaceutical companies and others. This White Paper identifies and summarizes some of the more noteworthy proposed changes.