Bush asks for Medicare grants, NIH increase

An outline of President Bush's budget proposal released on Wednesday indicates that, as expected, the budget will include a large increase in funding for NIH and block grants for states to subsidize prescription drug purchases by senior citizens. The budget also will propose suspension of the Commerce Department's Advanced Technology Program. The documents provide few details. Administration officials said the actual proposed budget, which will include requests for FDA funding, will be released in April.

The Bush administration will ask Congress to spend $153 billion over 10 years to provide an "immediate helping hand" to reduce drug costs for low income senior citizens. Under the plan, states would be given grants to "cover the full cost of drugs for individual Medicare beneficiaries with incomes up to $11,600 who are not eligible for Medicaid or a comprehensive private retiree benefit, and for married couples with incomes up to $15,700 (135 percent of poverty) who do not have access to coverage," according to the budget proposal. The proposal also would cover at least half of the drug benefit costs for individual Medicare beneficiaries with incomes up to $15,000 and married couples with incomes up to $20,300 (175 percent of poverty). The proposal also caps total out of pocket prescription drug costs for all Medicare recipients at $6,000 per year. ...