Donald Trump Elected: His 7-point Plan for Healthcare

After last week’s election results, the healthcare community is now on notice that there WILL BE changes in the future. The man who vowed to eliminate the ACA (“ObamaCare”) had just been elected president.  Must see TV!

Granted, eliminating ACA might not mean completely “eliminating,” as Trump took a more cautious approach days later (see video on keeping parts of the healthcare law).

In case you missed it – – here is his “7-Point Plan for Healthcare” as it existed before election day.

“The reforms will lower healthcare costs for all Americans. They are simply a place to start. There are other reforms that might be considered if they serve to lower costs, remove uncertainty and provide financial security for all Americans,” Trump noted in his plan. “And we must also take actions in other policy areas to lower healthcare costs and burdens.”

Although Obamacare received most of the attention, the more important business issues around reimbursement will probably be a higher priority for industry insiders. Here’s what experts say Trump will do regarding MACRA.

Christopher Kerns, managing director at The Advisory Board, provides his insights:

“MACRA is not in trouble, but mechanisms by which they control spending is what could change.”

Kerns said there might be a shift away from accountable care organizations as a principal driver of controlling spending, and more toward bundled payments or price control, cuts, or other forms of utilization control in the form of reduction in reimbursement for different kinds of services.

How the proposes outline of Trump’s plan will affect revenue cycle management remains to be see. It is well known that to lower costs, the healthcare industry must move towards to more electronic payments and lowering the amount of denied claims.

The early lesson: Wait and see. This administration will no doubt be a work in progress, and the healthcare industry at large is going to have to strap in for a white-knuckle ride! What is clear is that President Trump will be working diligently to find ways to lower healthcare costs, and it will be interesting to see how to industry reacts, including what new technologies will be developed during the Trump Tenure to help drive the initiative.

OrboGraph is looking forward to supporting the overall direction of payment automation, electronification, and quality to support the goals of reducing administrative costs.