Research & News

A Peak Inside Biden’s Healthcare Priorities

Independent of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Biden administration was certain to prioritize healthcare reform within its agenda. In contrast to the previous administration’s attempts to repeal the Affordable Care Act, which came up short but resulted in the elimination of the Individual Mandate, President Biden and his administration is expected to support and build upon the Affordable Care Act as the core pillar of his agenda. The Biden administration is staffed with a range of clinicians, researchers and policymakers with shared interests in enhancing healthcare equality by reducing disparities in care across patient populations.

To achieve the goals of increasing equity across all patient populations, the Biden administration plans to lean on 5 core priorities: offering a public option, expanding access to Affordable Care Act exchanges and subsidies, expanding Medicare eligibility, reducing prescription drug costs, and eliminating surprise billing.

A look at Biden’s nominations for critical healthcare related roles paints a colorful picture of how the Biden administration plans to manage the country’s healthcare needs and the potential impact their policies could have on health information technology. Not surprisingly, a number of nominations are carryforwards from the Obama administration and likely to build on the foundation of the Affordable Care Act.

The backgrounds of the major appointees for the Biden administration healthcare team reveal that the administration is likely to continue the efforts of the Affordable Care Act with a high emphasis on healthcare equity. While the administration has some time to reveal exact plans, it is apparent that future policies under this administration, like those of Obama’s administration, will continue to promote the use of Health Information Technology to optimize the delivery of care to all populations, largely focusing on interoperability standards. The matrix below reflects a strong concentration of healthcare equity in the backgrounds of the Biden appointees as well as Health information technology pioneers and champions.

Thanks to Nuvie Eshareturi from the UT Health School of Biomedical Informatics for his contribution to this research.

Below are some relevant articles for continued reading regarding Biden's healthcare agenda:

• Lessons From the Long and Winding Road to Medicare for All
• Redefining the "Public Option": Lessons from Washington State and New Mexico
• Medicare expansion is a discount compared to ObamaCare 
• President Joe Biden’s healthcare agenda: building on the ACA, value-based care, and bringing down drug prices: PwC
• How the Next Administration Can Lower Drug Prices
• Congress Acts To Spare Consumers From Costly Surprise Medical Bills
• 'Obamacare' Enrollment Rising as COVID-19 Pandemic Deepens