How Does the 2019 Budget Affect Agents?

With the 2019 budget recently released by President Trump, insurance agents should be up-to-date on any new changes announced. Although not approved yet, the changes including the elimination of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality and the National Institute could play a big role on how agents sell. From the proposed cut from the NIH to the elimination of ACA funding, these cuts could change your client’s insurance needs. So today, I will be going over how the budget proposal for the 2019 year can affect your selling during the enrollment season.

Budget Funding Health and Human Services

The new budget adds funding to health and human services. With the fight on opioid addiction at hand, the government plans to move money around to help battle the crisis. What also comes with the new budget is cuts to funding for subsidies, which help 4 of every 5 people in the ACA marketplace. The budget would cut federal Medicaid funding over the next decade. With attempting to save billions of dollars by repealing the ACA, the changes in funding would give states the ability to create their own subsidies programs to make up for the ones being taken away. The budget given to each state to cover every resident eligible for Medicaid would also be done away with.

Drug Plan Pricing

The plan also holds changes for prescription drug benefits, such as giving more flexibility for Medicare part d plans to set formularies. Some drugs will be moved from Medicare part B to D giving a greater access to drugs through different plans. There was also hints to creating an out-of-pocket maximum, which should limit drug cost from going skyrocketing. The new allocations will also require part d plans to share rebates for certain drugs. These rules set in place can help address cost-sharing between patients and resolve any kinks that have not been addressed in previous years.

Is This Budget Going to Go into Effect?

In summary, the new budget will cut Medicaid and Medicare spending over the next 10 years. Some funding will go towards the fight the opioid epidemic in our country. There would be the elimination of certain departments in health and human resources. The budget would lower drug cost for both Medicare/Medicaid. The repealing of Obamacare would continue while using all money from the cutbacks to strengthen our defense systems. It’s unlikely that all these changes will occur, but it is important to stay on top of any updates. Stay tuned for more budget updates and share this information with your clients. For more info on the budget, click here.

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