The future of healthcare

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to heaven, we were all going direct the other way – in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.                        Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities

I’m not sure how Charles Dickens could have known how appropriate the above quote was to our current political drama, but he seems to have peeked into the future and poignantly penned our situation. The shock wave that occurred November 8, 2016 caught everyone off guard and left most commentators, consultants, and voters stunned and bewildered. It was if you had been sucker-punched with a left hook by a rookie boxer. What just happened you ask yourself as you gather your composure?

And, just like after a bad breakup where you have been locked up in your bedroom for a week, eating chocolate ice cream from the carton while crying your eyes out, there comes a time when you must move on! So what does the future of healthcare look like? What can we expect from a Trump presidency?

Though there are not many details regarding the president-elect’s healthcare plan, we do know that he and the Republican majority congress are planning to repeal the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare). By doing so, millions of Americans will once again be without healthcare coverage. Some economists have predicted that by doing so, the cost of healthcare may rise even further.

But in all fairness, the ACA was becoming problematic due to rising premiums and insurers backing out of the marketplace. Therefore, whoever won the coveted oval office seat would have had to address such issues immediately.

Hopefully, the repeal of the ACA will not eliminate the protection against denying coverage due to preexisting conditions or eliminate the ability of parents to keep their adult children up to age 26 on their health plan.

Furthermore, a Trump presidency will likely include one or two Supreme Court Justices, which will impact the future of Roe vs. Wade legislation and a woman’s right to choose. It makes you wonder if the women voters who supported Trump actually considered that when they overwhelmingly aligned their support with him.

Yes, I agree the future of healthcare includes a lot of uncertainties, but looking at this from an optimistic point of view may give us fresh, innovative ideas to craft a more robust solution to the problems that face our nation. At the end of the day, the United States Congress and the president work for us. Sometimes you have to demand justice and not sit passively and wait for the trickle-down effect.

Your family doctor,

Denise Hooks-Anderson, M.D.

Assistant Professor

SLUCare Family Medicine

yourhealthmatters@stlamerican.com