Presidential Politics-How Do the Candidates Healthcare Policies Measure Up?

March 25, 2016


oval officeBy Ajay Prakash, MD

Peer Reviewed

Discussions about healthcare policy have played a central role throughout the presidential primaries. It is incredibly important for healthcare providers to have an understanding of healthcare’s current state and the manner in which each of the presidential candidates intends to reform it. This work will describe the public positions espoused by the presidential candidates in both the Republican and Democratic primaries. Where specifics are available, we will provide them. Where they are not, we will attempt to highlight those gaps in knowledge.

Republican Candidates

Donald Trump: Trump is still the national leader in the Republican Primary polls [1-3]. His healthcare positions are briefly described on his campaign website [4]. We will consciously avoid references to statements made earlier in his campaign unless he has re-emphasized those points on his website, as many are contradictory. Trump’s proposals include:

  • Repeal and Replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA): Trump has repeatedly stated that Obamacare must be repealed and replaced [5-6], with the rough outline of a replacement described on his website [4]. Key provisions of his plan are noted in following bullet points.
  • Interstate Purchasing: Trump intends to allow healthcare coverage to be purchased across state lines, which he believes would lead to a significant reduction in healthcare costs.
  • Healthcare Savings Accounts (HSAs): HSAs are broadly defined as a tax-preferred savings and investment accounts in which those with high-deductible insurance plans could save money to be used on medical needs [7]. Trump has publicly endorsed HSAs without providing details on how they would be established [8]. His website elaborates that these accounts would involve tax-free investments, be usable by any member of a family, and be inheritable free from estate taxation [4].
  • Medicaid Block Grants: Trump would change Medicaid disbursement from a federal program to a block grant system, whereby funds are given without instructions on how they should be spent. If his proposal conforms to prior Republican block grant proposals, this would also include steep budget cuts for Medicaid at the federal level [9].
  • Imported Medications: Trump is the only Republican candidate to incorporate a plan for the importation of cheap medication as a mechanism to decrease healthcare prices.
  • Universal Coverage: Though Trump has previously made campaign statements that supported healthcare coverage for those with pre-existing conditions (for example, he once stated he wants to prevent people from “dying in the streets”) [10], the plan described on his website does not mention coverage for this population, or for those who would inevitably be in a high-risk pool.

Ted Cruz: Cruz’s positions mirror that of Trump in that he would also like to repeal the ACA [11] and implement interstate purchasing and HSAs. However, unlike Trump, he specifically avoids references to medication pricing or Medicaid. Other portions of his plan include:

  • Interstate Insurance: Cruz focuses specifically on the idea that a nationwide marketplace would drive down the cost of catastrophic health insurance, a variety of low premium, high deductible plans that cover only minimal services and are designed for largely healthy populations [12-13].
  • Healthcare Savings Accounts: As above, Cruz supports HSAs for all other healthcare purposes [14-15]. Given his statements regarding catastrophic coverage, it is reasonable to assume that Cruz would offer coverage for high-risk pools or those with pre-existing conditions through HSAs, as catastrophic coverage would not be adequate for these populations’ persistent healthcare requirements.
  • Non-employer Insurance: Finally, Cruz would dissociate healthcare coverage from employment, allowing people to carry healthcare with them between jobs and when out of work.

John Kasich: Kasich’s plan has a very different focus compared to the other candidates, however his public statements [16] and his political website [17] offer few specifics. Kasich’s outlined proposals include:

  • Repeal the ACA: Kasich, like others in his party, calls for a complete repeal of the ACA, though his replacement plan lacks specific suggestions.
  • Expanded Medicaid: Kasich has publicly and repeatedly endorsed the ACA expansion of Medicaid [18], which he defended during his first debate performance [16]. As the majority of the ACA’s coverage expansion came through Medicaid, it would appear that Kasich would continue this aspect of the program.
  • Eliminate Mandatory Coverage: Kasich would eliminate the individual mandate to receive health coverage, the employer mandate to provide coverage, and the insurance mandate to offer coverage to people with pre-existing or high-risk conditions. As his plan currently stands, it is unclear how these individuals would actually be covered.
  • Emphasis on Primary Care: Unlike any of the other candidates on the trail, Kasich points to specialty medicine and procedure overuse as key drivers of cost. Kasich’s plan emphasizes a move towards preventative screening and primary care via changes in reimbursement incentives, though he does not explicitly offer details for this plan.
  • Value-Based Coverage: Kasich heavily endorses the bulk-payment system for each patient, in which hospitals are reimbursed through a lump sum for diagnoses instead of being paid for each procedure a patient undergoes. Without explicitly stating how, his plan aims to shift such cost-saving incentives to the healthcare provider rather than to insurance companies.

Democratic Candidates

Hillary Clinton: Compared to their Republican counterparts, both Democratic candidates offer very specific healthcare policy proposals. Clinton, in particular, is vocal about her desire to maintain the ACA while drafting legislation to limit out-of-pocket expenses in the case of significant medical costs. Her proposed plan includes:

Bernie Sanders: Sanders’ proposals differ significantly from those of any other presidential contender. Specifically, he proposes expanding the ACA into a single-payer system [24]. His platform emphasizes the following points:

  • End Employer-Sponsored Insurance: As with Cruz, Sanders would end employer-sponsored insurance and convert to an exclusively individual or family insurance market.
  • Price Pressure on Drug Companies: Per Sanders, using a single-payer system would allow the government significant negotiation power in setting prices for the most commonly used medications. This has been true in Medicare [25], which has successfully lowered the costs of many medications commonly used by the elderly.
  • Explicit Funding Sources: Sanders describes both the cost of his plan (approximately $1.38 trillion) and the potential funding sources. These include an employer healthcare premium, individual healthcare premium, changes to the existing income tax, and increasing capital gains and estate taxes. His site references approximate values for these funding sources, but it does not cite who provided these estimates, which suggests they might be internal estimates.

Discussion

Several themes arise from a brief analysis of the candidates’ positions. First, the Republican leaders are unified in their desire to repeal the ACA and, in theory, lower the cost of healthcare through interstate insurance purchasing. Trump’s plan also addresses a longtime concern for international drug purchasing, which has also been espoused by leaders of each party at different times over the past several years. Kasich’s plan is unique in framing the problem as a provider-sided cost issue associated with the current reimbursement model; however, he has surprisingly few solutions to this problem.

Each of the Democratic candidates dedicate multiple public posts to their respective positions, highlighting the relative importance of healthcare in their agendas. Their plans also address fundamentally restructuring healthcare provision and coverage, though each candidate identifies and addresses a different set of problems. Irrespective of which candidate reaches the White House, it is imperative that we understand healthcare policy positions and how they impact physicians and patients. Ultimately, being politically involved can allow us to convert patient advocacy into permanent positive change.

Dr. Ajay Prakash is a 1st year resident at NYU Langone Medical Center

Peer Reviewed by Neil Shapiro, Editor-In-Chief, Clinical Correlations, Emily Milam, Copy Editor, Clinical Correlations

Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

References

1.     A. Hooper, H. Fung, S. Shifflett, N. Forster and A. Scheller, “Huffington Post,” 26 January 2016. [Online]. Available: http://elections.huffingtonpost.com/2016/primaries#state-race-days-by-date. [Accessed 13 February 2016].
2.     N. Silver, “FiveThirtyEight,” 19 February 2016. [Online]. Available: https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/republicans-need-to-treat-donald-trump-as-the-front-runner/. [Accessed 13 February 2016].
3.     N. Gass, “Politico,” 03 March 2016. [Online]. Available: http://www.politico.com/story/2016/03/2016-republican-poll-trump-cruz-kasich-221111. [Accessed 20 March 2016].
4.     “Trump: Make America Great Again!,” 2015. [Online]. Available: https://www.donaldjtrump.com/positions. [Accessed 13 February 2016].
5.     S. Pelley, “60 Minutes,” 27 September 2015. [Online]. Available: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/donald-trump-60-minutes-scott-pelley/. [Accessed 13 February 2016].
6.     D. Zoom, “Wonkette,” 31 July 2015. [Online]. Available: http://wonkette.com/592434/donald-trump-will-repeal-obamacare-replace-it-with-terrific-fence. [Accessed 14 February 2016].7.      “US Department of the Treasury,” 1 12 2015. [Online]. Available: https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/faqs/Taxes/Pages/Health-Savings-Accounts.aspx. [Accessed 20 3 2016].
8.     A. Dukakis, 25 October 2015. [Online]. Available: http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/donald-trump-medicare-replaced-health-savings-accounts/story?id=34717788. [Accessed 13 February 2016].
9.     E. Park, “Center on Budge and Policy Priorities,” 17 March 2015. [Online]. [Accessed 19 March 2016].
10.  K. Picket, 06 February 2016. [Online]. Available: http://dailycaller.com/2016/02/06/trump-promises-to-save-people-that-are-dying-on-the-street-through-healthcare-plan/. [Accessed 13 February 2016].
11.  T. Cruz, “Health Care Choice Act of 2015,” 2015. [Online]. Available: https://www.cruz.senate.gov/files/documents/Bills/20150302_Healthcare_Choice.pdf. [Accessed 10 February 2016].12.   “HealthCare.gov,” [Online]. Available: https://www.healthcare.gov/glossary/catastrophic-health-plan/. [Accessed 20 3 2016].
13.  J. Weissmann, 28 January 2016. [Online]. Available: http://www.slate.com/blogs/moneybox/2016/01/28/ted_cruz_s_horrifying_idea_of_health_reform.html. [Accessed 10 February 2016].
14.  S. Williams, 06 Februar 2016. [Online]. Available: http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2016/02/06/ted-cruzs-3-point-plan-to-repeal-and-replace-obama.aspx. [Accessed 10 February 2016].
15.  P. Sullivan, 03 March 2015. [Online]. Available: http://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/234499-cruz-unveils-obamacare-alternative. [Accessed 10 February 2016].
16.  C. Thompson, “Cincinattie.com,” 17 August 2015. [Online]. Available: http://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/politics/elections/2015/08/17/john-kasich-medicaid-obamacare-republican-presidential-campaign/31745793/. [Accessed 19 March 2016].
17.  “John Kasich,” 2015. [Online]. Available: https://www.johnkasich.com/healthcare/. [Accessed 19 March 2016].
18.  J. Hook, “The Wall Street Journal,” 27 October 2015. [Online]. Available: http://www.wsj.com/articles/for-john-kasich-medicaid-expansion-is-both-accomplishment-and-liability-1445984610. [Accessed 19 March 2016].
19.  “Hillary for America,” 2015. [Online]. Available: https://www.hillaryclinton.com/issues/health-care/. [Accessed 14 February 2016].
20.  “Hilary for America: The Briefing,” 2015. [Online]. Available: https://www.hillaryclinton.com/briefing/factsheets/2015/09/21/hillary-clinton-plan-for-lowering-prescription-drug-costs/. [Accessed 14 February 2016].
21.  “Hilary for America: The Briefing,” 2015. [Online]. Available: https://www.hillaryclinton.com/briefing/factsheets/2016/01/17/clinton-would-build-on-aca-not-start-over/. [Accessed 14 February 2016].
22.  “Hilary for America: The Briefing,” 2015. [Online]. Available: https://www.hillaryclinton.com/briefing/factsheets/2016/01/22/lifelong-record-roe-anniversary/. [Accessed 14 February 2016].
23.  “Wikipedia: Hyde Amendment,” 15 December 2015. [Online]. Available: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyde_Amendment. [Accessed 14 February 2016].
24.  “Bernie 2016,” 2015. [Online]. Available: https://berniesanders.com/issues/medicare-for-all/. [Accessed 13 Febryuary 2016].
25.  D. Nather, “Stat News,” 6 January 2016. [Online]. Available: http://www.statnews.com/2016/01/06/medicare-negotiate-drug-prices/. [Accessed 14 February 2016].

 

One comment on “Presidential Politics-How Do the Candidates Healthcare Policies Measure Up?

  • Avatar of Eric LaMotte
    Eric LaMotte on

    Your statement that Sanders’ plan would “convert to an exclusively individual or family insurance market” is woefully inaccurate. Medicare-for-all would guarantee comprehensive health insurance to every American as a right. Although private insurance could be purchased for services not covered by the single payer plan, single-payer advocates favor expanding covered services from what is currently offered by Medicare. For example, in HR 676, the bill that most closely resembles Sanders’ plan, the guaranteed coverage would include primary care and prevention, inpatient, outpatient, emergency, psychiatric, palliative, long-term care, prescription drugs, DME, dental services, substance abuse services, and basic vision care and vision correction, podiatric care, and hearing aids. Co-payments and deductibles would additionally be eliminated. Overall, we would not be anticipated to spend more as a nation on healthcare. The amount of extra taxes would be equally offset by the elimination of copyaments, deductibles, and private health insurance premiums. The savings from administrative simplification ($400 billion) would provide the necessary funds to provide care for the tens of millions who are currently uninsured or underinsured. See http://www.pnhp.org/ for more information.

    Also, I think you misinterpret reference 25. Medicare has *not* been allowed to negotiate for drug prices to this point. President Obama campaigned on this idea but it was not included in the final ACA.

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