What the Second Trump Administration Will Mean for Healthcare Providers and Patients

While tariffs and tax cuts may be getting more press, changes to American healthcare in the second Trump Administration will be just as significant – and could impact millions. The exact scope and severity is difficult to predict 24 hours in, but we do have some directional indicators based on both Trump’s first term and anticipated shifts in leadership across key departments like Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and Health & Human Services (HHS).  

 

Much of the responsibility for both understanding and communicating what these changes mean will fall to healthcare providers, presenting both challenges and opportunities. Patients will increasingly look to care providers for guidance. Beyond consumers of care, providers will also be looking to their peers for best practices to navigate shifts.    

 

At MikeWorldWide we work with many of the leading health systems and care providers across the U.S., and are being asked daily what we are seeing and what it means for our communications strategy going forward. Here are some of the key policy and market shifts the MWW Health and government relations teams are watching closely and working with our client partners to navigate.      

 

• Changes to the Affordable Care Act (ACA):  Trump has signaled intentions to modify or replace the ACA to reduce costs and enhance market competition. ACA subsidies expire at the end of 2025 and Republicans could elect to simply not renew them. If that happens, the Congressional Business Office (CBO) estimates that 4 million people will become uninsured by 2026. That number would almost double by 2030.  

 

The ripple effects of 4 million people becoming suddenly uninsured would be far reaching. Most significantly and directly impacted would be low-income populations, reversing progress made in recent years to advance health equity and access. Others would likely see higher premiums without the subsidies provided under ACA. It is also likely that restrictions around pre-existing conditions will be reinstituted, hindering many with chronic conditions from accessing necessary care they need to manage their health and wellness. 

 

• Medicare and Medicaid Adjustments: The potential changes here are enormous. Medicaid currently covers around 20% of the U.S. population, including 40% of all children, nearly 80% of children in poverty, and 60% of non-elderly adults in poverty. It also covers 41% of all births in the United States, nearly half of children with special health care needs, and more than 60% of nursing home residents. Proposed reforms, which include spending caps and work requirements for Medicaid, would almost surely result in reduced coverage. Again, the most immediate impacts would be on inherently vulnerable groups, but the ripple effects would be felt across the entire U.S. health system and population.  

 

• Potential Shifts in Reproductive Health Policies: Following the reversal of Roe v. Wade in 2022, Trump will likely continue to promote policies that lean pro-life. Based on his previous term and statements made in recent months, it’s likely that the new administration will look to remove protections under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA), which requires hospitals to provide emergency abortion care. Additionally, the administration seems open to supporting conscience exceptions that would allow medical professionals and even administrative staff to deny critical procedures — from gender-affirming care to abortion — based solely on personal beliefs. 

 

• Telehealth Expansion: Medicare coverage for telehealth and hospital at home (continuous hospital care provided where you live) has been extended through the end of March 2025. While this is good news, and telehealth has historically enjoyed bipartisan support across both the Trump and Biden administrations, what happens after March is anyone’s guess.  

 

It is true that telehealth usage has dropped off significantly since the quarantine-defined days of the pandemic. However, several important use cases persist, including reaching people in care deserts, mental health patients, or those managing chronic conditions.  

 

• Price Transparency and Deregulation:  Simply put, the administration would like hospitals and insurers to make their negotiated prices for most health care services clearly available to the public, with the intent of increasing competition, lowering costs, and empowering patients to make more informed decisions. This is actually already required but it is extremely complicated to enforce and communicate in a consumer-friendly way. Moving forward, focus will likely be on the quality of data and enforcement.   

 

All these have significant implications for providers, many of which are just getting back to pre-pandemic patient volumes and profitability. Simply put, uninsured patients generally can’t pay their medical bills, and chronic or complex patients who have challenges accessing care tend to get sick(er). They inevitably become more expensive to care for, further placing pressure on already thin margins.  

 

But the financial implications – which, make no mistake, are real – pale before the very serious human consequences, and unfortunately some of our most vulnerable people stand to be hardest hit. When we introduce hurdles to access, many simply disengage or defer care, compounding their conditions. Some may also seek out care in less than ideal settings, putting themselves at potentially greater risk. Generally, very sick people are unable to work or contribute in meaningful ways to their communities and families. This can be measured in dollars and has detrimental impacts to already underrepresented people and neighborhoods. Empathy and understanding will go a long way for providers, particularly in these markets.   

 

Here are some ways healthcare providers can respond, should these anticipated shifts come to pass. 

 

Understand your patient population’s unique challenges. Consider bringing together your comms, clinical, and data professionals to share insight into your patient population. Once you really understand the unique issues across your patient community, you can craft a tailored communications strategy that meets them where they are and helps to navigate their unique challenges, making you a trusted partner in their health and wellbeing. This will increase patient engagement, recruitment, retention, and drive better outcomes. 

 

Communicate proactively with patients. Reaching out with messages that are grounded in reality, that understand the patient population, and that help guide people forward will be essential. Understanding Social Determinants of Health (SDOH) across your patient populations can be an incredibly powerful compass to guide communications that will not only reach the right people, but educate and influence behaviors in a positive way. Population health data can guide communications in the same way it guides care. 

 

The messenger matters. The best way to gain patient trust, especially in disadvantaged communities, is ensuring that the message is delivered by people who look like them, and ideally have a tie to the community. Ideally, these people already exist within your organization. If not, you should fix that or engage third party spokespeople.  

 

Take the lead on sharing your perspective with other providers. Since many of these policies touch on cultural issues, or can be divisive, hospitals and health systems might be tempted to keep quiet. If so, they should fight that urge. With changes of this scale come challenges across virtually all provider organizations. This will increase the appetite for genuine thought leadership and will actually present a substantial opportunity for those brave enough to share their POV, experiences, and or best practices.  

 

If these changes come about, they will be an opportunity to elevate your brand and shepherd patients through your doors – whether digital or physical – to access the right kind of care in the right setting that is both beneficial to them and your bottom line.  

 

But finally, note that it is easy to get caught up in the complexity of the business of health and lose sight of the fact that it is ultimately about caring for people. Make sure this human care comes through in your storytelling and is steeped in your brand and perception.  

 

At MWW Health we are fortunate to partner with provider organizations of all shapes and sizes across various geographies, affording us a robust data set and macro view of these issues and their impact. While we fully anticipate challenges, we are more excited about the opportunity to help our provider partners and the patients they care for navigate the shifting landscape of healthcare under this new administration.  

 

Stay tuned, as we will continue to monitor these things as they unfold and share our learnings across the provider market, as well as other key sectors like pharma/biotech, HealthTech, MedTech, insurers, and even consumer health and wellness.   

 

If you or your organization has any questions or could use any support bolstering your brand amidst all this change, drop us a line. We’d welcome the chance to connect and help.