Dan Todd on Certainty and Uncertainty in the Healthcare Industry

While the ongoing healthcare debate in Congress creating a lot of uncertainty among the healthcare industry, there are areas of certainty and optimism, said Dan Todd, JD, principal at Todd Strategy.

Transcript

How is the ongoing debate around the future of healthcare in the United States weighing on the healthcare industry?

Wll certaintly with regard to the Affordable Care Act, I don't think there's as much certainty as people would like. There are still debates in Congress on the Graham-Cassidy repeal proposal, the Republicans in the Senate have until September 30 to use the budget reconciliation process. So those discussions are still ongoing, and I think some of the bigger interests, the hospitals, the health insurance companies, still have a lot of anxiety around that.

We aren't yet at a point where we're having a discussion of bipartisan stabilization efforts. I think the health committee is trying, Senator Lamar Alexander and Senator Patty Murray, but I guess I'm not as optimistic about the outcome yet, because it seems we've got limited buy in across the board.

What areas of certainty or optimism remain for the healthcare industry?

So, certainly I think with the health plans, the Medicare Advantage plan is a real focus for them and a priority, and certaintly with this administration, consistent with previous Republican administrations, there's a lot of effort to support the program and expand its popularity with the beneficiaries. And it's obviously an important line of business for the plans, so I think that is certainly consistent and growing, and will only grow in importance.