Covid-19, Regulatory Changes and Election Implications: An Inside Look with Premier’s SVP of Public Affairs

This special episode of Healthcare is Hard: A Podcast for Insiders puts listeners “in the room” for LRVHealth’s annual planning meeting where the firm and its partners from across the health system determine strategic directives for the upcoming year.

But this year was much different than the past. Months of extensive planning for what is typically a two-day event in Boston was thrown completely out the window in response to the Covid-19 crisis. The event quickly became virtual, and perhaps more significantly, the content was entirely refocused to address the new realities that are changing every facet of the healthcare industry.

To lead a discussion about fast-changing healthcare policy directives at a federal level, LRVHealth tapped Blair Childs who, the day before, had been at the White House discussing these very issues with the president, vice president and hospital leaders from across the country. Blair is SVP of public affairs at Premier Inc, a company that unites an alliance of 4,000 hospitals and health systems and more than 175,000 other providers and organizations. As Premier’s primary spokesperson and communications strategist in Washington, Blair serves as liaison to the U.S. Congress, White House, healthcare policymakers and other major bodies involved in healthcare policy and regulation.

During his presentation for LRVHealth’s strategic partners, Blair provided a view inside the beltway and shed light on the biggest issues impacting the healthcare industry including:

• Rapid regulatory changes. In response to the pandemic, the federal government made about 70 different regulatory changes to make it easier for providers to care for patients. And it all happened in about a month – a remarkable pace for such change to occur. But as the public health emergency subsides, the focus will soon turn towards deciding when new regulations should be rolled back, and in many cases, whether they should be rolled back at all. Blair reviews some of the major changes that have occurred so far and offers insight into how some of them – on a range of issues from telehealth to FDA approvals – might fare into the future.
• Election implications and policy predictions. With the general election occurring in November and close contests that could shift power in the White House and both houses of congress, Blair offers his analysis on the different races and how they might impact the healthcare market. He reviews issues such as the shift to retail ambulatory care that has been incentivized by the realities of Covid-19 and how those changes will not be impeded by either party. And he also talks about issues that hang in the balance such as the battle between providers and payers that could swing towards collaboration with Democrats in power, or continue to rely more on market-based solutions under Republican leadership.

To get an inside look at LRVHealth’s annual meeting and hear what Blair Childs shared with the firm’s strategic partners to help them plan for and adapt to major shifts occurring in Washington, listen to this episode of Healthcare is Hard: A Podcast for Insiders.