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President Biden, as part of his budget set for release on Thursday, will propose raising a tax on Americans earning more than $400,000 as part of a series of efforts to extend the solvency of Medicare by a quarter-century. The president will also propose expanding that tax, which helps fund health care programs, to cover a wider swath of income, including some earnings by business owners that currently are not subject to it, White House officials said in a fact sheet released on Tuesday morning. Mr. Biden will also seek to broaden a measure, passed last year entirely with Democratic votes, that allows Medicare to negotiate the price of certain prescription drugs with pharmaceutical companies, which is projected to save the government money. (Tankersley and Sanger-Katz, 3/7)

The budget I am releasing this week will make the Medicare trust fund solvent beyond 2050 without cutting a penny in benefits. In fact, we can get better value, making sure Americans receive better care for the money they pay into Medicare. (President Joseph R. Biden Jr., 3/7)

The proposal, unveiled Tuesday morning, would fund the program into the 2050s by increasing the Medicare tax rate from 3.8 to 5 percent for households making more than $400,000 a year. ... The White House’s tax increase would apply to both “earned and unearned income” above $400,000. ... The plan also beefs up a requirement that pharmaceutical companies pay into Medicare when they increase prices faster than inflation. By making this rule apply to commercial health insurance, the White House aims to dedicate around $200 billion to Medicare’s hospital trust fund over the next ten years. (Burns, 3/7)

His proposal also seeks to close loopholes that allow high earners to shield some of their income from the tax, the White House said. The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), passed by Democrats last year, authorizes Medicare to negotiate prices for high-cost drugs. The budget proposal would allow Medicare to negotiate prices for more drugs and to do so sooner after they launch, saving $200 billion over 10 years, the White House said. (Renshaw, 3/7)

Additionally, the plan calls for expanding new rules reducing Medicare prescription drug payments beyond the measures approved last year as part of the Inflation Reduction Act. The plan would give the administration authority to negotiate what price the federal government pays for more drugs than the limited number approved as part of Democrats’ legislative package last year, while also speeding up the process for negotiations. The prescription drug changes would bring in an additional $200 billion for the Medicare trust fund, the plan states. The proposal would also cap co-pays for some generic drugs, such as those used to treat hypertension and high cholesterol, to $2 per prescription per month.(Stein, 3/7)

More changes would be made to Medicare benefits. Biden wants to limit cost sharing for some generic drugs to only $2. The idea would lower out-of-pocket costs for treating hypertension, high cholesterol and other ailments. In addition, the budget would end cost sharing for up to three mental health or behavioral health visits per year. (Megerian, 3/7)