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In his new budget, President Obama proposed on Monday to squeeze $399 billion over the next 10 years out of Medicare, Medicaid and other programs run by the Department of Health and Human Services. Under the proposals, many Medicare beneficiaries would have to pay more for their care and coverage. The president would, for example, introduce a co-payment for new Medicare beneficiaries who receive home health care services, and he would collect $4 billion over 10 years by imposing a surcharge on premiums for new beneficiaries who buy generous private insurance to supplement Medicare. (Pear, 2/2)

The Obama administration’s fiscal 2016 budget request calls for allowing the government to negotiate the price of prescription drugs and giving regulators new funding to fight Ebola. The Department of Health and Human Services request proposes a budget authority of about $1.09 trillion for fiscal 2016, up from $1.04 trillion in fiscal 2015. Of that, $83.8 billion is discretionary funding for the agency, an increase of $4.8 billion from fiscal 2015. (Armour and Burton, 2/2)

With patients facing greater exposure to the high cost of new medications, President Barack Obama on Monday called for government to use its buying power to squeeze drug companies for lower prices. Obama's budget asks Congress to authorize Medicare to negotiate on behalf of its beneficiaries for so-called "specialty" drugs that require hefty copayments from patients. They include biologics, which are medications derived from natural substances, ranging from insulin to some of the latest cancer treatments. (Alonso-Zaldivar, 2/2)

President Obama’s proposed 2016 budget takes a major swipe at waste and abuse in Medicare Advantage plans for the elderly, seeking more than $36 billion in cuts over the next decade to curb costly government overpayments to the industry. (Schulte, 2/3)

President Barack Obama's budget would strip away about $399 billion in federal health costs over a decade with the bulk of the proposed savings coming from reducing Medicare payments for drugs and services for people recovering from serious illness or injuries. Certain high-earners enrolled in Medicare, the federal health program for the elderly and disabled, also would pay more out of pocket for drug and outpatient services. (Young, 2/2)

HHS again faces an Obamacare funding gap: The money it expects to glean in fees from insurers doesn’t match up to the money it needs to operate the law’s health insurance exchanges. President Barack Obama’s fiscal year 2016 budget released Monday includes an HHS request for nearly $2.2 billion to operate the Affordable Care Act’s health insurance marketplaces. Nearly $1.6 billion would come from user fees on participating insurers. HHS asks for another $629 million for CMS to support exchange operations. (Pradhan, 2/2)

The White House's proposed budget for 2016 would extend funding for the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) through 2019, a summary document indicated Monday. CHIP funding is due to expire on Sept. 30, and without action from lawmakers, more than 8 million children could lose their health insurance coverage. (Viebeck, 2/2)

Mr. Obama has proposed a $168.8 billion budget [for the VA], compared with $163.9 billion in 2015. He is requesting $70.2 billion in discretionary funding for the department, nearly 8% more than in 2015. Discretionary funding includes items like medical care, research and construction, but not things like disability compensation payments, which are considered to be mandatory funding. The department would also be able to use some $3 billion in funds collected from things like payments from health insurers and copays for discretionary purposes. (Kesling, 2/2)