HHS Secretary: Healthcare reform must ‘continue to endure’
HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell defended the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and the broader efforts of changing healthcare payments, delivery systems and health IT in a Health Affairs blog post.
It wasn’t all about the ACA or arguing against repeal efforts from President-elect Donald Trump and congressional Republicans. Burwell did offer warnings, however, against rolling back the “progress” made by the ACA, like eliminating increased insurance coverage, protections for pre-existing conditions or Medicare Part D savings.
“Although this Administration will conclude in the next month, I have no doubt that the transformation of our health care system is larger than any one Administration or any one President,” Burwell wrote. “Rather, it is a transformation guided by the work of actors at all levels and across the country. The Affordable Care Act may have been an important catalyst, but the changes it set in motion are permanent. And were well overdue. Any attempts to reverse or legislate away this progress will have to grapple with the reality of what our nation has already achieved.”
For more on Burwell’s reflection on her tenure at HHS, and improvements she’s seen in areas like care delivery and EHR adoption, click on the link below:
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.