It’s official: The Republican Party is in control of Congress. While predictions that the GOP had a chance at gaining enough seats in the Senate on Nov. 4 to take Congress were common, the party proved even more successful, sweeping more than the 7 seats they needed to take control and even forcing a runoff election in Louisiana.
Now that the GOP controls the legislative branch, what does its strong position mean for healthcare?
Lately, there has been plenty of buzz about whether the party will challenge the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act directly. While this was a popular strategy upon which Republican candidates ran for Senate, it’s fallen out of favor. It seems unlikely Republican control of Congress will mean a repeal, either full or partial, of the PPACA.
However, the PPACA remains unpopular with the public. In the context of the midterm elections, the economy ranked far above the healthcare law in importance to voters — up to three times as mentioned. The PPACA may well have already reached the peak of its popularity last winter. The law isn’t broad-based entitlement program like Medicare, and it caters to a specific segment of the U.S. population. So, the majority of the PPACA’s potential supporters may already be on the bandwagon.
Rather, the discussion about the healthcare law and healthcare in general will likely shift from a Democratic one one — where expanding policy is key — to a Republican one — in which discussions of spending cuts are almost guaranteed.
Use of budgetary tools to affect legislative change is far easier for the party than being vocal, especially given the current political climate. Given the Democratic president, it’s unlikely any large overhaul of any health policy would be especially successful, and it would burden the GOP with the added problem of bad press.
Much more important to the future of healthcare than the 2014 midterms will be the 2016 elections, when the presidency will be up for grabs and full alignment of the executive and legislative branches of government may be a possibility. Strategically speaking, it could benefit both parties to lay low in the interim, changing little and waiting for their opponent to make a mistake.
This doesn’t mean no change is possible. In the ambulatory surgery center industry, CMS released slightly increased payments for fiscal year 2015 already. But, it seems likely that drastic change is out of the question between now and 2016. Certainly, appropriations will afford the opportunity for minor alterations in healthcare law, healthcare payments and the country’s general stance toward domestic health policy; however, major overhauls seem unlikely.
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