Not only has the Trump administration hacked away at our health care system internally, but they have weakened our position internationally by pulling out of the World Health Organization.
A young woman stepped into my hospital’s emergency room, vomiting blood. With her skin bright yellow from jaundice, her abdomen full of fluid and her hands tremulous, we quickly diagnosed her with cirrhosis, a form of chronic liver failure. She had been bouncing from one emergency room to another as her sickness progressed, unable to afford standard medical insurance and establish care with a primary care physician or liver specialist.
During her hospitalization with us, we were able to enroll her in Medicaid, a federal and state-sponsored health insurance for those with limited means. This would be lifesaving for her in the long run, allowing her to get the care she needed to finally improve after her hospitalization.
Trump is already scaring physicians like me
Upon taking office less than two weeks ago, President Trump has already been making waves by signing executive orders reversing many of his predecessors’ public health policies, much to the detriment of our fellow elderly, lower-income and vulnerable citizens.
As he did in his first term, the Trump administration has been looking to weaken the Affordable Care Act, which has provided millions with insurance coverage, even those with preexisting conditions.
However, on his first day, President Trump signed executive orders to decrease the enrollment period for the ACA exchange and rescind increased federal subsidies for the program. In effect, this will limit the accessibility of the ACA and could decrease the number of people who will sign up, as they might miss the window.
Ironically, this could hit hardest the states that voted for Trump’s second term. The solidly politically red states of Florida and Texas lead the nation in ACA enrollments.
Medicaid expansion and benefits might even further be cut under this Republican administration. As part of his flurry of executive orders, President Trump has already rescinded several programs put in place by President Joe Biden under his order on “lowering prescription drug costs for Americans.” Although much was still in the exploratory phase, the order sought to create price caps and price agreements so that our elderly and vulnerable would not have to pay so much out of pocket.
How is making people pay more for their medications making America great?
American health care system is broken. Trump won’t fix it.
For sure, the American health care system is broken and overly reliant on access to our health insurance giants to pay for quality care.
Nonetheless, taking a chopping block to our national safety nets for those who fall through the cracks is not the answer to fixing it. Sure, it could save money in the short term, but at what cost of human lives?
Not only have Trump administration officials hacked away at our health care system internally, they also have weakened our position internationally by pulling out of the World Health Organization. This hurts global initiatives and impacts our health and safety at home. The WHO helps to coordinate efforts among 194 countries to limit infectious diseases and develop vaccines and treatments against emerging threats. Without this cooperation, we might be ill-prepared for the next pandemic.
Within his first couple of weeks, President Trump is dismantling public health efforts that benefit so many Americans. I am concerned with his choice of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, and his even more outlandish choice of Dr. Mehmet Oz to lead Medicare and Medicaid. More trouble – and less sympathy for our sick – is on the way. These two have shown unserious, anti-science, anti-public-health tendencies. I hope they can shed them and make sound public health recommendations, but I’m not so sure.
In the end, my patient with liver failure is now well-connected with doctors, on Medicaid and doing much better. They say that “compassion is often the best medicine.” And I hope President Trump, Dr. Oz and RFK Jr. can show people like her some compassion. But more so, I hope they can ensure her access to health insurance, physician appointments and low-cost prescriptions.
After President Trump’s first weeks back in office though, I’m not optimistic.
