Strong Heroes

Health Equity in the U.S. Amid Presidential Transition

The 2024 presidential election was determined by a few distinct issues. Among immigration, the economy, foreign affairs, and various others, however, one issue in particular has sparked the attention of Strong Heroes: healthcare. With both Donald Trump and Kamala Harris bringing attention to the issue, it was likely on the mind of voters across America on November 5th. Thus, given the recent election, we thought we’d take the opportunity to review each candidate’s respective stance on healthcare and health equity, while placing an emphasis on what we expect the policy transition from the Biden administration to the Trump administration will look like.

Let us first take a look at the Biden-Harris administration’s stance on the matter. While we recognize that Biden and Harris hold slightly different views on healthcare, we merged the two in this blog for simplicity. Over the past term, healthcare and health equity have emerged as central policy goals of the administration. Most notably, the Affordable Care Act was strengthened, thereby expanding Medicaid and pushing it into states yet to adopt it. They have lowered the cost of prescription drugs through the Inflation Reduction Act, and prioritized reducing socioeconomic disparities in healthcare through increased funding for community health programs. Beyond direct policy, the administration also has repeatedly enforced its stance through proposals on public health insurance and prioritizing mental health and substance abuse programs. Additionally, their emphasis on protecting reproductive care adds another layer to their focus on greater access to quality healthcare.

Looking at president-elect Donald Trump, we can use both the promises of his campaign and his actions during his past presidency to consider what his healthcare goals will look like. Perhaps the largest difference between the Biden and Trump administrations is the fact that, while Biden rebuilt it, the Trump administration oversaw the original dismantling of the Affordable Care Act (ACA).

Specifically, Trump reduced funding for the ACA after an initial effort to repeal it entirely. With regard to other issues within healthcare, Trump discouraged immigrant families from seeking Medicaid and actively cut funding for abortion services. The Trump administration did not prioritize the reduction of health disparities and excluded prior benefits and protections for preexisting conditions. That being said, The Trump administration made significant strides in healthcare for veterans, in addition to increasing funding for combating the opioid epidemic.

Overall, much of the funding for public health services and insurers available under the Biden-Harris administration is likely to receive significant cuts under the future Trump administration, as it did in the past. There are likely to be many rapid changes made to healthcare in the early period of the upcoming Trump administration. Remember to continue checking in on the Strong Heroes blog as we follow these developments in the months ahead.

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