Included in the 2016 budget proposal issued by the Obama Administration on February 2, 2015, OPA is requesting a >100% in funding. A portion of the increase ($7,000,000) is budget based and the balance, $7,500,000, would be derived from user fees the agency plans to initiate. Among other things, OPA plans to double its current staff through this additional funding. If approved at this level, the budget for OPA will be more than 5.5 times its 2012 operating budget and the additional funding will be to further advance the agency's program integrity initiatives.
The agency also stated that among other things it plans to:
Finalize guidance in 2016 regarding the definition of eligible patients and eligibility for certain hospitals.
Increase enforcement through audits and other oversight activities.
The agency plans to continue random and targeted audits as well as conduct "more audits of coverd entities ...and expand the programs compliance reach." OPA will also continue efforts to work with entities on self-disclosure compliance issues thus signaling an expectation that robust program integrity initiatives shoud be underway to detect program non-compliance. The agency also plans to implement civil monetary penalities for manufacturers and covered entities as well as continuing efforts in developing compliance tracking tools.
The full budget brief can be found at www.hhs.gov/budget/fy2016/fy-2016-budget-in-brief.pdf. The HRSA Justification of Estimates for Appropriations Committees can be found at www.hrsa.gov/about/budget/budgetjustification2016.pdf.
Please contact us with any questions/comments/concerns you may have regarding the 2016 budget proposal or if you are in the San Fransisco area for the 340B Coalition Winter Conference, please stop by our booth (#38).
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