Trump's Return: 6 Major Changes Set to Impact the Healthcare Industry 🥼🩺

1. Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A): Eased Restrictions, Increased Activity 📈

Under the current FTC Chair Lina Khan, the agency has aggressively scrutinized healthcare mergers and acquisitions, aiming to prevent market consolidation that could harm competition and consumer choice. With a new FTC chair under Trump's administration, expect a more business-friendly stance, potentially leading to fewer regulatory obstacles and an uptick in industry consolidation and expansion.

Khan has received some praise from Vice-President Elect Vance in saying in February that the FTC chair is “one of the few people in the Biden administration that I think is doing a pretty good job.”

2. Non-Compete Agreements: Potential Continuation

The FTC's recent push to ban non-compete agreements faced significant legal challenges. With new leadership, Trump's administration is expected to abandon the appeal to enforce the ban, leaving non-competes largely intact. This change could allow healthcare organizations to continue using non-competes to retain talent.

For healthcare organizations, this means that non-competes could continue to serve as a valuable tool for retaining key employees and protecting proprietary information. While controversial, non-competes are often considered vital for maintaining workforce stability in high-skill, competitive sectors like healthcare.

3. Medicare Overhauls: Funding and Structural Revisions

Trump and other Republican leaders have proposed shifting Medicare to a block grant model, where states would receive fixed federal funding. This approach is designed to give states more autonomy over healthcare spending but could also lead to variability in how funds are allocated, potentially impacting patient access and provider reimbursements.

The change could focus on limiting federal spending and curbing entitlement growth, which might pressure states to reassess budget priorities. Healthcare providers, especially those serving lower-income populations, should anticipate possible changes in reimbursement rates and consider strategies for maintaining financial viability under new funding structures.

4. Affordable Care Act (ACA): Revisiting Repeal and Replacement

Trump’s return brings the ACA back into the spotlight, with the potential for a renewed push toward repeal or substantial revision. While a full repeal might not pass, efforts to scale back Medicaid expansions, adjust individual mandates, and reshape insurance marketplace rules could gain traction.

These adjustments could lead to reduced coverage options for certain populations and shake up the insurance market. For healthcare providers, understanding and preparing for these changes will be essential, particularly in states where Medicaid expansion could be scaled back or restructured.

5. Drug Pricing: Renewed Efforts to Lower Costs

Trump has consistently advocated for measures to reduce drug prices💊📉, focusing on easing financial burdens for consumers. Under this administration, we may see renewed support for Medicare price negotiations, especially on high-cost drugs.

This push would require pharmaceutical companies to adapt to potentially lower price caps and competitive pricing models, affecting revenue strategies. For healthcare providers and insurers, lower drug costs could improve patient access to necessary treatments, though the extent of impact will depend on how aggressively these measures are implemented.

6. Corporate Transparency Act (CTA): Potential Compliance Relief

The Corporate Transparency Act mandates that companies disclose beneficial ownership information to combat financial crimes, but enforcement may face a more relaxed approach under Trump. By easing compliance requirements, the administration could offer healthcare companies more operational flexibility, especially for complex organizational structures.

However, relaxed enforcement may raise transparency and accountability concerns, especially for multi-state healthcare organizations. Healthcare leaders should assess how a potential rollback in CTA enforcement might impact both compliance protocols and public perception.