Apparently, there is one of the analysts who has gone on to warn of likely disbalance in the US healthcare system because of the election of Donald Trump as the president of the country, especially pointing to the possible appointment of anti-vaccine advocate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. so as to oversee the health inside the administration and also changes to the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
According to the pharmaceutical analyst from GlobalData, Cyrus Fan, during his initial term, Trump attempted but failed to go ahead and repeal the ACA, but he may as well consider it now. However, in his 2024 campaign, he had already stated that he would not pursue an ACA repeal in his second term, thereby opting out, and instead would rather propose an alternative plan, details of which still remain unclear.
It is well to be noted that in the past four years, the ACA has gone on to gain widespread support because of the Biden administration, and any kind of restructuring could as well prominently affect millions of Americans. Medicaid may also face certain challenges, as Trump in the past has already proposed adding work requirements, but he has not addressed anything during his recent campaigns.
ACA, which is almost every time referred to as Obamacare, offers subsidies to almost 20 million Americans who depend on private health insurance. Under President Biden’s rule, enhanced subsidies were passed, which were part of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) in March 2021; however, these are all set to expire in 2025. At present, Trump has not indicated any kind of intention to extend them.
The likely appointment of former Democrat Robert F. Kennedy Jr. within healthcare has also gone on to raise eyebrows. Trump has already suggested that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will be given authority in order to carry out his plan so as to make America healthy again.
Although the details of this particular plan are yet to crop up, it is most likely to constitute prominent alterations when it comes to regulatory bodies in the US, as hinted in a tweet that was posted in October by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., who warned that if one works for the FDA and is also a part of the corrupt system, there are two messages: first, preserve records, and second, pack bags.
Fan went on to explain that appointing Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to the position of health secretary may as well have enormous damaging effects when it comes to US healthcare system, given his anti-vaccine rhetoric as well as negative comments when it comes to the FDA. It indeed raises massive questions for the future of US drug approvals as well as the regulatory power of the FDA.
Moreover, dismantling the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as well as other health agencies can also jeopardize US public health and, in a way, slow down all the work that was done by the Biden administration. This also includes addressing the opioid epidemic as well as the cancer moonshot program.
Concerns pertaining to RFK’s historical attitude towards US healthcare system have been further propelled by the insinuation from Trump that Kennedy would be given free rein. During his victory speech, Trump had said of RFK that he wants to do some things, and the administration is going to let him do it.
The previous proposal by Trump in order to lower the cost by way of international reference pricing also appears to have gone quiet, but it has been suggested that he may as well look forward to targeting other areas within the pharmaceutical sector, like pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), which have already featured as a recent topic of interest among the Republican lawmakers.
Fan went on to conclude that Trump offered limited details when it comes to healthcare policy during his 2024 campaign, thereby leaving the experts to be apprehensive about potential changes in 2025. There are many Americans who may as well fear that their healthcare coverage by way of ACA or Medicaid could as well be at risk. When it comes to the pharmaceutical industry, Trump appears to be less focused. In terms of imposing reforms, this term, however, he has already expressed an interest in introducing drug cost reduction measures, although less aggressively as compared to the proposals by Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee.
