2025 Healthcare Challenges: Executive Orders & Their Impact
About a month ago, we opened 2025 with the traditional wishes of “happy new year.” Well, dry January isn’t even over, and it’s clear that 2025 is off to a sad, sad start. California has suffered some of the worst wildfires in history, a blizzard hit the city of New Orleans as it was reeling from a New Year’s day terrorist attack, and, of course, there is the torrent of executive orders and actions from the newly inaugurated Trump administration.
The actions and orders that touch on healthcare will not only negatively affect U.S. patients and providers, but they will also radically alter the business of healthcare in this country.
At ABIG Health, we are deeply worried about the healthcare, immigration, and energy edicts, not to mention the gutting of the federal workforce, here are the five most worrisome executive orders and actions President Donald Trump has issued so far.
1. Rescission Of Drug Pricing Initiatives
President Trump revoked a 2022 Biden administration executive order aimed at reducing drug costs for Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries by capping copayments for generic medications and lowering payments for U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved drugs. This reversal may hinder efforts to decrease prescription drug spending, affecting both patients and healthcare providers.
“What Medicare beneficiaries pay for their prescription drugs should not be subject to the political whim of executive orders at all. It should be spelled out by law,” Mary Johnson, an independent Social Security and Medicare analyst, told MarketWatch. “Congress has ‘power of the purse’ and it is their job to lower costs for both beneficiaries and taxpayers. Without such legislation requiring Medicare to negotiate all drug prices with pharmaceutical companies, Medicare recipients are … stuck paying the highest drug prices in the world.”
She is right.
2. Withdrawal From The World Health Organization (WHO)
The administration has initiated the process to withdraw the United States from the WHO, citing dissatisfaction with the organization’s handling of global health issues. This decision could limit the United States’ participation in international disease response coordination and information sharing, potentially increasing vulnerability to global health threats.
The Berkeley School of Public Health listed some of initiatives the WHO is working on now and its past achievements. The list included fighting malnutrition, delivering vaccines, providing assistance and technical guidance to people in poor and battle-scarred regions of the world, eradicating smallpox, reducing worldwide polio cases by 99%, and greatly reducing the prevalence of malaria and trachoma, the world’s leading cause of blindness.
“For Americans it may not be obvious immediately what the impact [of WHO withdrawal] will be, but given the world we live in and all of the factors that are driving more disease outbreaks, America cannot fight them alone,” says Dr. Ashish Jha, dean of the school of public health at Brown University, told TIME. “We need an effective WHO to not just keep the world safe from these diseases, but to keep Americans safe from these diseases.”
3. Elimination Of Protections For Sensitive Locations
Immigration agents now have free reign to enter U.S. healthcare facilities to try to identify and apprehend undocumented individuals.
That’s because one of President Trump’s executive orders removed previous restrictions on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations in “sensitive locations.” Previously protected areas included hospitals, doctor’s offices, urgent care centers, community health centers, vaccination or testing sites, health clinics, and sites that serve pregnant individuals.
Quite simply, this policy change may deter individuals from seeking necessary medical care due to fear of immigration enforcement, thereby impacting public health and safety. It also could raise costs and legal risks for these healthcare providers.
4. Federal Hiring Freeze
President Trump has enacted a freeze on hiring new federal employees. His political staff also is reportedly putting on leave individuals who disagree with Trump administration policies. Not only does this quash good policymaking, a process that depends on robust debate and challenge, it means the federal government will have to do more, with less, leading to longer approval times at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, and other agencies.
A federal hiring freeze at places like the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), which already is understaffed, also could put more pressure on community healthcare providers. VA facilities already come with long wait times. The men and women who bravely served our country should get ready to sit in line even longer, or to seek care elsewhere.
5. Reversal Of Diversity And Inclusion Initiatives
The administration has issued orders to eliminate programs promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion within federal agencies. This move may affect healthcare initiatives aimed at addressing disparities among marginalized groups, potentially widening existing gaps in healthcare access and outcomes.
But that’s not all. As Fierce Healthcare noted:
The American Association of Medical Colleges (AAMC) said the order would impact academic medical centers receiving federal funds and lead to “civil compliance investigations of entities, including large nonprofit associations, [and] state and local medical associations.”
Law firm Morgan Lewis said all employers, including healthcare companies, “should anticipate additional executive actions from the Trump-Vance administration in the weeks and months to come and should review their DEI programs and equal employment opportunity policies to assess any potential legal risk.”
Where Do We Go From Here?
These executive actions represent a significant shift in U.S. healthcare policy, with far-reaching implications for public health, healthcare delivery, and industry operations. Stakeholders are advised to closely monitor these developments and assess their potential impact on organizational strategies and patient care. Of course, get in touch with ABIG Health if you would like a deeper dive analysis about how these policies could affect your business and the patients and markets you serve.
Follow me on social:
Thanks for reading the Top 10 Big Deals in Healthcare and be sure to share with your network:
