On Friday, May 28, President Biden released his full Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 budget request, which expands on the ‘skinny’ budget released in early April 2021. The full budget request includes $131.7 billion for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) – a $25 billion or 23.5% increase from the 2021 enacted level. The proposal would also increase funding for the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Cancer Institute (NCI), and would fully fund the 21st Century Cures Act and the Beau Biden Cancer Moonshot Initiative. While the budget request is non-binding, it does signal the President’s priorities to Congress, stakeholders, and the general public.
The funding request also outlines the Administration’s proposal for new Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H). ARPA-H, which would be modeled after the Defense Advanced Research and Development Agency (DARPA), would “speed application and implementation of health breakthroughs to reduce illness and save lives.” In the budget request, the Administration states that the proposed ARPA-H will “complement NIH’s existing research portfolio, providing an agile and flexible arm to advance biomedical science quickly and robustly.” ASCO remains interested in learning more about this proposal and looks forward to working with the Biden Administration to strengthen the nation’s biomedical research and drug development enterprise on behalf of all patients with cancer and their providers.
Other highlights from the FY 2022 budget request include:
- $51.95 billion for NIH, including $6.733 billion for NCI, full funding for the Beau Biden Cancer Moonshot Initiative, $6.5 billion for ARPA-H, and $330 million to enhance health disparities and inequities research, including $250 million for the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities.
- $8.7 billion for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) —the largest budget authority increase in nearly two decades. Proposed funding includes $153 million for CDC’s Social Determinants of Health program to support efforts to improve health equity and data collection for racial and ethnic populations.
- $3.609 billion for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), including a proposal to increase the user fee collected in support of the tobacco program by $100 million and would add electronic nicotine delivery system manufacturers and importers as entities subject to the user fees.
- Expresses support for legislative proposals to expand access to health insurance, including:
- Making permanent increased premium tax credits for people who obtain coverage through Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplaces.
- Providing a ‘public option’ that would be available through ACA marketplaces
- Giving people age 60 and older the option to enroll in the Medicare program with the same premiums and benefits as current beneficiaries, but with financing separate from the Medicare Trust Fund.
- Extending coverage to people in states that have not expanded Medicaid by providing premium-free, Medicaid-like coverage through a Federal public option, paired with financial incentives to ensure States maintain their existing expansions.
- Expresses support for letting Medicare: negotiate payment for certain high-cost drugs, require manufacturers to pay rebates when drug prices rise faster than inflation, and reform payments to insurers and certain providers to reduce overpayments and strengthen incentives to deliver value-based care
ASCO continues to be encouraged by President Biden’s deep commitment to end cancer as we know it and looks forward to working with him, his Administration, and Congress to fully fund research and programs needed to accelerate progress against cancer, expand access to high-quality cancer care, and provide hope for the millions of Americans personally impacted by cancer.
Learn more about ASCO’s FY 2022 budget requests.
Stay connected to ASCO in Action for updates on the federal funding process and other cancer policy priorities.
