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Over the next several days and while R. Morris Owens is taking a little R&R…I will present to you discussions on the following subject matter topics…
Here are ten critical subject matter topics that are important to many American voters:
Healthcare – Access to affordable healthcare, prescription drug prices, Medicare, and Medicaid.
Economy – Jobs, wages, inflation, tax policies, and economic growth.
Education – School funding, student loans, public education reform, and access to higher education.
Immigration – Border security, pathways to citizenship, and immigration reform.
Climate Change – Environmental protection, clean energy policies, and climate change mitigation.
Gun Control – Gun rights, background checks, and regulations on firearm ownership.
Criminal Justice Reform – Policing, prison reform, and the impact of laws on communities.
Social Security and Retirement – Funding for Social Security, pensions, and retirement savings.
Reproductive Rights – Access to abortion, contraception, and women's health services.
Voting Rights – Election integrity, voter access, gerrymandering, and campaign finance reform
Remember The fight continues!
HEALTHCARE & Agenda 47
Donald Trump’s "Agenda 47," which is his broad vision for a potential second term in office, emphasizes conservative principles like reducing government intervention, cutting taxes, deregulation, and advancing policies that emphasize free-market approaches. While Trump's healthcare positions during his presidency did not
achieve the complete overhaul of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), he has consistently favored market-driven healthcare reforms, reducing government involvement, and promoting cost-cutting measures.
Here’s a review of the ideas mentioned earlier for balancing healthcare expansion and cost reduction, in light of what might align or clash with Trump's "Agenda 47":
Access to Affordable Healthcare: One of the central tenets of Trump's Agenda 47 is improving access to affordable healthcare through deregulation and competition. By fostering a marketplace where healthcare providers and insurers compete more freely, Trump aims to reduce costs for everyday Americans. In light of the nation's financial condition, Trump would likely push to reduce the regulatory burden on businesses and health providers, streamlining services to lower administrative costs. While this approach appeals to free-market principles, it may challenge those who rely on government intervention to access care. Nonetheless, Trump’s vision is to empower individuals with more choices and transparency, encouraging consumers to seek the most cost-effective solutions.
Medicare and Medicaid: Trump’s healthcare agenda would aim to protect Medicare, but his approach may focus on efficiency reforms to reduce spending on providers while maintaining core benefits. With the federal budget stretched and Medicare's long-term sustainability in question, Trump’s goal would be to implement reforms without compromising the quality of care for seniors. In Medicaid, Trump has historically favored giving states more flexibility to administer the program, allowing them to tailor Medicaid to the specific needs of their populations. This could result in varied healthcare outcomes across states but would enable more innovative solutions to address the diverse healthcare needs of different communities.
1. Value-Based Care and Market Competition
Trump’s agenda would likely support value-based care models as they align with a market-driven approach to healthcare. Shifting from fee-for-service to value-based care could reduce costs by emphasizing quality over quantity, which resonates with the principle of efficiency and cost savings often advocated by conservatives.
Value-Based Care Models: Another likely innovation in healthcare policy would be a shift toward value-based care, where providers are reimbursed based on patient outcomes rather than the volume of services provided. By emphasizing value over quantity, the Trump administration could incentivize healthcare providers to focus on preventive care and managing chronic conditions effectively, leading to better health outcomes at a lower overall cost. This aligns with broader trends in healthcare policy, which aim to reduce waste and improve patient satisfaction.
Alignment with Agenda 47: Value-based care would align with Trump's vision of reducing healthcare costs through market-based mechanisms. Encouraging competition among healthcare providers (as seen in value-based models) could align with his goal of introducing more free-market dynamics.
Potential Challenge: However, Trump's emphasis on deregulation might clash with the oversight needed to ensure proper implementation and regulation of value-based models. Strong regulations are often needed to make sure that value-based care models do not lead to under-provision of services.
2. Reducing Unnecessary Medical Procedures
Trump would likely support efforts to reduce unnecessary procedures, as these can reduce overall healthcare costs and eliminate wasteful spending, something Trump has repeatedly called for in various government sectors.
Alignment with Agenda 47: The elimination of unnecessary procedures through evidence-based care would resonate with Trump's emphasis on cutting waste in government and healthcare spending. Reducing regulations on healthcare providers to streamline services and reduce administrative burdens would be consistent with this approach.
Potential Challenge: While reducing unnecessary care aligns with cost-saving principles, Trump's anti-regulation stance could complicate efforts to enforce such reductions effectively, as robust systems of oversight are necessary to ensure evidence-based standards are followed.
3. Expanding Preventive Care and Primary Care
Trump’s Agenda 47 does not traditionally focus on expanding healthcare access through government mandates, but enhancing preventive care, especially if done through market-based solutions like health savings accounts (HSAs), may align with his vision.
Alignment with Agenda 47: Trump has promoted the idea of personal responsibility in healthcare, including the use of HSAs. Expanding preventive care through tax-incentivized HSAs or private initiatives could align with Trump's preference for market-based solutions rather than large-scale government programs.
Potential Challenge: Expanding government-funded preventive care programs or increasing subsidies for such initiatives may Challenge with Trump’s desire to reduce the federal role in healthcare. His focus is more on individual choice and free-market principles.
4. Telemedicine and Digital Health
Telemedicine became more prominent during Trump's presidency, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, and expanding its use fits with his deregulatory, market-oriented approach to healthcare.
Pharmaceutical Innovation: Trump's focus on reducing prescription drug prices could coincide with fostering innovation in the pharmaceutical industry. By promoting faster approval processes at the FDA and encouraging competition among drug manufacturers, his administration might spur the development of more affordable generic drugs. Additionally, the push for price transparency in drug pricing would help hold pharmaceutical companies accountable, ultimately benefiting consumers with lower costs for essential medications.
Alignment with Agenda 47: Trump would likely support expanding telemedicine and digital health tools as part of a market-driven healthcare solution. Telemedicine reduces costs and expands access without heavy government spending, which fits his agenda for reducing the role of government in healthcare.
Potential Challenge: Ensuring equitable access to digital tools, especially for rural and low-income populations, might require infrastructure investments and subsidies, which could run counter to Trump's fiscal conservatism.
5. Price Transparency and Competition
Trump has already pushed for greater price transparency in healthcare, particularly during his first term. He signed executive orders promoting hospital price transparency and drug price reductions through market competition.
Alignment with Agenda 47: Trump's Agenda 47 would likely continue pushing for price transparency to reduce healthcare costs. Increasing competition among providers by making prices more transparent fits with his broader deregulation and free-market approach.
Potential Challenge: While price transparency helps foster competition, it may not fully address the inherent pricing disparities in healthcare markets, which might require stronger regulatory intervention—something Trump generally opposes.
Prescription Drug Prices: Trump has a history of tackling high drug prices, having signed several executive orders during his first term to address the issue. He is likely to continue these efforts by supporting policies that allow Medicare to negotiate drug prices, cut out middlemen, and increase competition among pharmaceutical companies. For Americans, particularly seniors and those with chronic illnesses, this could mean more affordable medications, addressing a major financial strain in the current healthcare system.
Impact on Low-Income and Vulnerable Populations: Trump's policies would likely aim to reduce federal spending while preserving essential services for low-income and vulnerable populations. By shifting more control to states and emphasizing competition, Trump’s reforms could potentially lead to both innovation and cost savings. However, concerns remain that some states may reduce eligibility or services under Medicaid, which could disproportionately affect lower-income individuals. Trump’s administration would need to balance these potential impacts by ensuring that reforms maintain a basic safety net for those who rely on government assistance for their healthcare.
Financial Condition of the United States: Given the U.S. government’s debt levels and budgetary constraints, a Trump administration would likely prioritize reducing healthcare costs and government spending. This could involve more aggressive reforms to Medicare and Medicaid to curb costs, but Trump has consistently pledged to avoid cutting benefits outright. The challenge will be to reconcile the need for fiscal responsibility with the healthcare needs of an aging population, rising drug costs, and the ongoing pressures on the healthcare system from inflation.
6. Population Health and Social Determinants of Health (SDOH)
Addressing social determinants of health, such as housing, education, and income, would be challenging to fit into Trump's Agenda 47, as these involve broad societal changes often associated with larger government intervention and spending.
Potential Challenge: Trump's agenda would not likely focus on addressing SDOH through government initiatives. He would likely emphasize reducing the federal government’s role in healthcare, which could hinder efforts to address the root causes of poor health outcomes that require coordinated governmental actions (such as investments in public health infrastructure or housing).
Possible Workaround: If these issues could be addressed via private partnerships or incentives for states to take on the responsibility, there might be some alignment, but federal initiatives on SDOH are not typically in line with Trump’s goals.
7. Integrating Behavioral and Physical Health
Mental health, particularly mental health crises, have been a focus during Trump’s presidency and have been addressed in part through deregulation and telehealth expansion.
Alignment with Agenda 47: Integrating behavioral and physical health fits with the goal of reducing healthcare costs by better managing chronic conditions and mental health issues, especially through innovative and market-driven solutions like telepsychiatry.
Potential Challenge: If integration efforts require increased government intervention, particularly funding for mental health services through Medicaid or Medicare, it could clash with Trump’s desire for smaller government. He would likely prefer private sector solutions.
8. Reducing Administrative Costs
One area where Trump’s Agenda 47 would likely align is in reducing administrative costs, especially through deregulation. Trump has long advocated for cutting bureaucratic red tape across government sectors, and this fits neatly with reducing administrative burdens in healthcare.
1. Expanded Health Savings Accounts (HSAs): Trump has historically supported the idea of expanding Health Savings Accounts, which allow individuals to save money tax-free for healthcare expenses. This aligns with the broader Republican approach of empowering individuals to take more control over their healthcare decisions. Expanding HSAs would provide more Americans, particularly those with high-deductible health plans, the financial flexibility to cover healthcare costs, promoting savings and reducing reliance on expensive insurance options(
2. Reducing Regulatory Burdens on Providers: Another way to reduce healthcare costs is by cutting unnecessary regulations that drive up administrative expenses for healthcare providers. In his first term, Trump made moves to eliminate burdensome regulations, and a second term would likely see a continuation of this trend. Reducing the administrative load on healthcare professionals can free up resources, allowing them to focus on patient care and reducing overhead costs, which could lower the overall cost of healthcare(
Interstate Competition in Health Insurance: Trump has supported policies that would allow health insurers to compete across state lines, increasing competition in the health insurance market. The idea is that more competition would lead to lower premiums and better coverage options for consumers. Although this idea faces practical challenges, it aligns with Trump's broader strategy of fostering competition to drive down prices.
Alignment with Agenda 47: Trump’s emphasis on reducing regulations aligns well with efforts to streamline administrative processes in healthcare, cutting down on unnecessary paperwork and bureaucracy to drive down costs.
Potential Challenge: While Trump supports reducing bureaucracy, maintaining the right level of oversight and administration is essential in healthcare to ensure quality, and there’s a risk that excessive deregulation could lead to unintended consequences in care quality.
Conclusion:
Healthcare in a second Trump term would likely reflect a combination of deregulation, market-based reforms, and forward-thinking technological innovations. With a focus on price transparency, expanding consumer choice, and fostering innovation, his administration would aim to lower costs while maintaining access to quality care. The emphasis on telemedicine, personalized medicine, AI, and value-based care could revolutionize the healthcare landscape, providing a more efficient and affordable system for all Americans. However, the challenge would lie in ensuring that these innovations and reforms reach the most vulnerable populations while balancing the need for fiscal responsibility with the rising demand for healthcare services.
In light of Donald Trump’s Agenda 47, certain aspects of reducing costs and expanding access to value-based healthcare align with his vision, particularly those that involve market-driven solutions, telemedicine, price transparency, reducing unnecessary procedures, and administrative cost reductions.
If you have any comments or questions for ARP, please contact us at: info@puregrassroots.org.
Yours in Service,
Dr. James M. Copas Chairman & CEO, American Republic Policy
(Just standing in for Dr R. Morris Owens, who needed a break)
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