What Trump’s election means for healthcare

Official White House photo by Shealah Craighead

Tom Leary, head of Government Relations at HIMSS, is tracking what the change in the administration could mean for interoperability and data sharing regulations that are already well underway. He and his team are also looking at what a new Congress means for other policies.

“We absolutely expect with the new Congress, some new policy around AI around healthcare and cybersecurity,” Leary said.

Under the Biden administration, in 2022 the Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement (TEFCA) was created to deliver on the expectations of the 21st Century Cures Act that was signed into law eight years ago.

Also under Biden, the Health Data, Technology, and Interoperability: Certification Program Updates, Algorithm Transparency, and Information Sharing (HTI-1) final rule was published in January and the HTI-2 proposed rule was released in July

Some components go into effect on January 1, Leary said. 

“It will take regulatory change to pull some of that back, particularly reporting requirements, especially around AI,” he said. “For us, we want to make sure we understand what’s going to happen with regulations for the (HIMSS) membership, to have our ear on the ground to know what kind of guidance we could give members,” Leary said.

There’s momentum in place to follow through on what the current administration has put into place.

“It’s not easy to slow down that train, to change direction,” he said. 

HIMSS recently released Public Policy Principles for Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. The AI Act in the European Union will have an impact on multinational organizations, including the United States, Leary said. Congress needs to take action to stay on top of that, he said.

HIMSS will continue to beat the drum on keeping telehealth and remote patient monitoring. Both were allowed under waivers put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic and have been extended past the end of the public health emergency. Congress needs to act before the end of the year to keep the extended flexibilities for telehealth and remote patient monitoring in place.

“We have until December. 31t or we go back to March 2020,” Leary said.

Trump’s victory appears good for pharmaceutical companies and Medicare Advantage insurers. For the latter, Trump is expected to provide regulatory benefits, according to The Wall Street Journal. Stocks climbed for MA insurers the day after the election.

The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) President and CEO Stephen J. Ubl said PHRMA looks forward to working with President Trump to build on the successes from his first administration. 

Pharma has been reined in under the Biden administration’s efforts to lower drug costs, a move Ubl has said stifles innovation.

Innovation in the biopharmaceutical industry enables the United States to lead the world in medicine development, he said, by statement about Trump’s election.
 
“We are committed to working with the Trump administration and the new Congress to make our healthcare system work better for patients while preserving our unique ecosystem that enables greater innovation and lower costs for patients,” Ubl said. “During his first term, President Trump led the charge to rein in PBM (pharmacy benefit manager) abuses and ensure more of the rebates they negotiate are passed on to patients at the pharmacy counter. We will continue working with policymakers to advance bipartisan PBM reforms that lower costs and reduce barriers to patient access.”