Healthcare Policy Outlook: The Potential Impact of the Midterm Elections
Healthcare affordability is top of mind for voters heading into the midterm elections, and the results could have significant implications for healthcare policy in 2027. In the latest episode of "Midterm Minute," Senior Policy Advisor Miranda Franco breaks down how different election outcomes could shape the healthcare policy landscape and where bipartisan action may be possible regardless of which party controls Congress. She also examines how shifts in House control could affect issues such as enhanced premium tax credits (EPTCs) and Medicaid provisions enacted under H.R. 1, as well as highlights areas where Democrats and Republicans may find common ground, including drug pricing.
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Miranda Franco: I think the thing that presides over this larger conversation is that healthcare affordability is top of mind for voters. And so, what does that mean in terms of actual healthcare policy? I think it means we will likely see incremental reforms going into 2027, the most notable being, should Democrats regain control of the House, that will really have some robust conversations about bringing back the EPTCs, or the enhanced premium tax credits, as part of the Affordable Care Act subsidies. I think that becomes a priority, certainly, in 2027.
And then I think Democrats will also prioritize looking at ways to reverse some of the Medicaid cuts that came forward as part of H.R. 1. There are aspects of those cuts that went above statutory authority where they could look at rulemaking to rule some of that back and, perhaps, make the cuts less acute than they were articulated in H.R. 1.
And then I think there is an opportunity for the admin and for potentially a Democratic House, perhaps a Republican Senate or a Democratic Senate, to work collaboratively on things where there has been agreement around drug pricing, for example. So I think there's those headwinds that will continue forward in a bipartisan way and then sort of a new landscape should the political dynamics change following the November 3rd election.
So we'll all be waiting with bated breath to see how this plays out and ready to service our clients as a result.