Deputy HHS Secretary: ‘Disruption is on the way’ if its needed to improve healthcare
Eric Hargan, deputy secretary of HHS, opened AcademyHealth’s Health Datapalooza conference by saying the Trump administration isn’t afraid of causing “disruption” in the current healthcare system to solve issues surrounding affordability and accessibility.
“If we need disruption to deliver the care Americans deserve, then disruption is on the way,” Hargan said, according to the Washington Examiner.
Hargan said that’s in line with many HHS and CMS initiatives announced over the past year, including the Medicare Blue Button 2.0 expansion, the MyHealthEData initiative to allow greater patient access to their health records and the more recent provision in the proposed Inpatient Prospective Payment System (IPPS) rule to require hospitals to post their standard prices for treatments online.
These changes may “make existing players uncomfortable” Hargan said, but he emphasized the administration supports innovation in the private sector while considering the transition to value-based care a priority.
Hargan was filling in for HHS Secretary Alex Azar, who couldn’t make his scheduled speech after spending several nights in the hospital last week for an infection due to diverticulitis.
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John joined TriMed in 2016, focusing on healthcare policy and regulation. After graduating from Columbia College Chicago, he worked at FM News Chicago and Rivet News Radio, and worked on the state government and politics beat for the Illinois Radio Network. Outside of work, you may find him adding to his never-ending graphic novel collection.