$911 billion for Health and Human Services Budget

President Obama

President Obama is proposing $911 billion for health and human services in his 2011 budget proposal, in order to improve issues such as food safety, expand child care and increase research, as he continues to try and reform the American healthcare system.

Healthcare costs are consuming an ever-increasing amount of the nation's resources, straining family, business and government budgets, the Advancing the heath, safety, and well-being of our people report states. Healthcare costs take up a growing share of Federal and State budgets and are the greatest threat to the government's long-term fiscal outlook.

Kathleen Sebelius, secretary of Health and Human Services said that the proposal includes $1.4 billion to overhaul the nation's food safety program, $1.6 billion to expand childcare programs and $1.7 billion to fight waste, fraud and abuse.

"Under this budget we plan to provide the health and human services that America depends on more effectively, routing out waste and focusing our programs on results,"Sebelius said during an afternoon press conference.

"This budget takes a big step toward a healthier, stronger America," she told BusinessWeek.

HHS budget request

The total 2011 Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) budget request, which is subject to Congressional approval, is $911 billion, an increase of $51 billion over 2010.

The goal of the proposed budget, according to Sebelius, is to start switching America's healthcare from a "sickness" to a "wellness" system.

"What we have today is a sickcare system where we wait until something goes wrong to intervene," Sebelius said. "What we are on the road to building is a true healthcare system that promises better health all the time."

The proposed budget includes $1.7 billion to fight waste, fraud and abuse - an increase of $250 million over last year's budget Sebelius said.

Among other budget highlights, the US National Institutes of Health would get an additional $1 billion in new medical research funds, bringing the agency's total to $32.2 billion for research funds.

There is also nearly $500 million for vaccine research, including finding better ways to produce vaccines faster.

The new proposal includes $1.4 billion - an increase of $327 million - for improved food safety, to be shared by the US Food and Drug Administration and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

There's also increased funding for bio-safety, to protect against disease, natural disasters and terrorist attacks.

For the FDA, the budget calls for a 23 percent funding increase from last year, to $4.03 billion. The FDA budget includes measures for improved safety for food, drugs and other medical products, as well as anti-smoking campaigns.

The budget would also increase by $290 million funding for community healthcare centers, including funding for 25 new centers. "Thanks to the new investment these centers will provide high-quality primary care for over 20 million people a year - three million more than were served in 2008,"Sebelius said.

EHR's

The budget also includes more funding for electronic medical records, with the goal of getting more healthcare providers to use e-records, in the hope it will reduce medical errors as they roll out across America.

"The budget is based on our growing understanding that health is influenced by many factors outside of a doctor's office," she said. "Where you live matters, so does what you eat and drink - even what you watch on TV."

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