New estimates issued by the White House's Office of Management and Budget (OMB) project Medicare and Medicaid spending will grow less than original predictions, according to Kaiser Health News.
Altogether, OBM expects spending to decline $8 billion over the next decade. Half of that reduction is expected to take place this year, with the remainder of the savings to occur over several more years.
However, the estimate also takes into account projected reductions in payments to physicians as part of the sustainable growth rate formula. Physician lobbies have been highly successful in delaying SGR-related cuts for years.
According to the OMB's mid-session review, overall outlays for government expenditures are trending downward.
For more information:
- read the Kaiser Health News piece
- read the OMB's Mid-Session Review