Biden leaves public option plan, Hyde Amendment out of budget proposal

President Biden’s budget for the next fiscal year leaves out financial plans for a public option, lowering prescription drug costs and Medicare expansion, despite several Democrats’ calls for the administration to prioritize these health care reforms.

In the $6 trillion budget released Friday, Biden called on Congress to “take action” this year to reduce prescription drug costs and “to further expand and improve health coverage.”

The president specifically indicated his support for creating a public option, lowering the minimum eligibility age for Medicare and expanding Medicare to include vision, hearing and dental coverage.

But the budget proposal does not detail how the administration plans to make any of these changes, several of which were campaign promises, nor does it include the expected price tag of these reforms in the overall budget costs.

Background: The Biden administration previously excluded plans to reduce prescription drug prices and decrease the minimum Medicare eligibility age when it originally released the American Families Plan last month.

Hyde Amendment: Biden did fulfill his campaign promise to end the Hyde Amendment which forbid federal funding for abortions by not including it in the budget.

The decision not to include the Hyde Amendment comes after criticism of Biden on the campaign trail pushed him to backtrack his previous support for the prohibition of federal dollars funding the procedure.

Abortion rights advocates hailed the Hyde Amendment’s absence from the White House’s budget as a victory, while opponents criticized its removal.