What Obama's Health Care Budget Means For You

President Obama's health care budget plays to nearly every type of constituent.

There is $6 billion set aside for cancer research and more than $70 million to improve access and quality to health care in rural areas. He's allotted $330 million to address chronic shortages of health care professionals. Even autism disorders and teen pregnancy prevention are earmarked to receive extra dollars.

But more likely to affect consumers directly are proposed changes to Medicare, the government program that provides health coverage to 37.6 million Americans over the age of 65.

Changes to Medicare, including the elimination of no-bid private plans, are expected to net a savings of $316 billion in the next decade.

These savings, combined with $318 billion in revenue generated from a tax increase on individuals and families who earn more than $200,000 and $250,000, respectively, make up a $634 billion so-called down payment on expanding health coverage to millions of uninsured Americans.

The end goal, according to administration plans released last week, is to simultaneously improve access and quality of care while containing the cost. (Currently at $2.1 trillion, health care spending accounts for 16% of the nation's gross domestic product.)

"I don't see anything in the budget that would lead to a reduction of quality of care," says Karen Davis, president of the Commonwealth Fund, a private foundation that supports health care research. "It's driven by rewarding providers who [are more efficient] and targets excesses."