Trumping Healthcare

After Repealing ObamaCare, What Comes Next?

“Obamacare is a disaster. You know it. We all know it. We have to repeal it and replace it with something absolutely much less expensive.” ~Donald Trump, 2nd Trump-Clinton Debate (1)

Repealing Obamacare was not the main focus of election, despite the policy cancellations for many and double digit premium increases for nearly everyone.  According to a Kaiser Family Foundation poll (2), “Healthcare ranked low on the list of issues of utmost importance to voters in 2016…and “Obamacare” ranked even lower”, with a majority believing “ACA should be preserved as-is or even expanded (49%) rather than scaled back or junked (41%)”.

But President-Elect Trump’s Health Policy statements go the other way:

“Every American deserves access to high quality, affordable health care, not just insurance. Obamacare has failed on cost and quality of health care. It must be repealed. America needs a patient-centered health care system, allowing families and their doctors to be primary decision makers. Provide for the sale of health insurance across state lines.” (3)

The Kaiser poll showed people’s two main concerns for our leaders was

1. Affordable prescription drugs in general, especially for severe chronic conditions like hepatitis and cancer, and
2. Being able to see a doctor in their health plan

So What’s Next?

How would President Trump thread the needle politically and make changes?

According to his statements, we’ll see a big push to:

1. Let insurance companies sell policies nationwide, across state lines to promote competition and reduce premiums.
2. Let regular people buy healthcare with pretax dollars for insurance policies, as well as pay for care with health savings accounts (HSAs).

What does this mean for chiropractors, therapists, trainers and other posture professionals?

People and potential patients with more choice, and more buying power in their hands instead of the insurance company.  Which means greater focus on the consumer, and less on authority.  Fostering patient centered practice models.

People will be paying for more care out of their own pockets…and especially with HSAs, have a lot more cash in their pockets to spend.  This bodes well for services and products with perceived value to people.

Winners:

1. Providers delivering care with perceptible benefits now, as well as understandable longer term care.
2. Coordination with other health providers to earn credible trust for cross referrals in patients best interest (which is why the posture specialist is such a valuable niche for MDs, nurses, trainers and others who value physical as well as chemical perspectives).
3. Retailing of products that are paid for out of pocket, which means delivering tangible value that’s readily communicated to others.

Losers:

1. Insurance strategies for high dollar reimbursements with long term care.
2. Billing overpriced medical devices to insurance.
3. Bureaucrats.

My Prediction:

For back aches and neck pain, as well as appearance and aging well, posture will continue rising in relevance for texting millennials and slumping boomers… and everyone else.

The opportunity for health and fitness professionals is building a coalition for greater awareness of our structure (posture), coupled with actionable ways to help people help themselves in a virtuous cycle, in alliance with other professionals and product purveyors offering value for building an intelligent posture environment.

Get ready for the May is Posture Month 2017 ACE campaign (Awareness —  Control — Environment).  Connect on PostureMonth.org

1: NPR

2: Medscape

3: Google, Trump Positions, 11/9/16