Federal Spending Bill Now Law, Includes Increased Funding for Key Programs

Last week, Congress passed and the President signed legislation to fund the federal government for the remaining six months of fiscal year 2018 (FY18). The spending package, known as an omnibus, addresses several of Medicare Rights top priorities:

• Increases investments in the Medicare State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) and other non-defense discretionary programs serving older adults and people with disabilities.
• Maintains important progress recently made to reduce prescription drug costs for people with Medicare.
• Safeguards the Affordable Care Act’s consumer protections and rejects proposals that would destabilize the health care system.

Medicare Rights thanks lawmakers for their efforts to prioritize older adults and people with disabilities in the final FY18 spending bill. Looking ahead, we will seek to build upon these investments in FY19, and will continue work to advance our goals that were not addressed in the bill, including the BENES Act and an extension of the Medicaid Money Follows the Person program.

Read the final bill.

Read more about the Medicare Rights Center’s priorities for the omnibus here and here.