Sure, you may have a personal opinion on who should win the upcoming 2016 presidential election, but take a minute to think of the professional ramifications of the candidate who wins next week. A lot rides on the winner of the election, particularly when it comes to healthcare and how it affects your practice, whether you’re in the dental, surgical or medical industry. Healthcare is a hot-button issue with both candidates, and how they approach our national healthcare system will have far-reaching effects over the next four years and beyond.
Affordable Care Act: What Now?
The Affordable Care Act, implemented by current president Obama, and what happens to it after this election, lies uniquely in the hands of each candidate. If Hillary Clinton takes over, the act will stay largely intact, utilized as a basis for continuing the program. She wants to expand program coverage through the use of tax credits and reductions in out-of-pocket costs, plus she wants to include uninsured families no matter what their immigration status may be. Should Donald Trump be elected, he will ask Congress to repeal the Affordable Care Act, replacing it with new proposals that focus on free-market competition to keep costs down. He wants to get rid of governmental mandates that say every person must purchase health insurance or face fees. He also wants to allow inter-state competition among health insurance companies, provided their plans comply with each state’s regulations.
Impacts on Medicaid
This is another area of concern for many people across the country. Hillary Clinton wants to continue to allow states that request Medicaid expansion to get a total match for the first three years. Expanding Medicaid, in her view, would bring about full coverage for the ones who need it most. Donald Trump wants to enlist block-grant funding for Medicaid, meaning appropriate funding would be doled out to each state, with each state then deciding how best to spend that amount based on the needs of their residents. The aim is to cut down on federal involvement, boosting the power of each state instead and thus reducing corruption of the system.
Pharmaceutical Prices
With the cost of prescription drugs constantly on the rise, many people simply cannot afford the drugs they need to get well and stay well. Clinton wants to crack down on pharmaceutical companies for hiking up their rising prices, instead rewarding them for research investment, promising to lower the cost of prescription drugs for middle-class families and senior citizens. Trump plans to reduce pharmaceutical costs through a free-market approach by removing barriers to entry into free markets and giving people better and easier access to lower-cost imported drugs from overseas.
Medical professionals know all too well how fast the industry is changing. It practically takes a PhD just to keep up with them all! The vote you cast on November 8 will impact your healthcare practice now and in the future, so vote wisely. Take the time to research each candidate’s position, making a bullet list of each factor that you feel would most impact your practice. Good luck and get out and vote next week!
Contact Medical Healthcare Solutions
For more information on what we offer to make your healthcare practice easier to operate, contact us today or fill out our convenient online form. We apply the latest medical billing technology in order to meet and exceed even your most challenging medical billing needs, from electronic health records and practice management services to ASC Revenue Cycle Management services. If you have questions on further ways the 2016 election will impact your practice, give us a call.
