Recommendations for a Biden/Harris Health Policy Agenda

This digital symposium, guest edited by Erin C. Fuse Brown, explores recommendations for the Biden/Harris administration’s health policy agenda.

We asked leading health law scholars to describe one health policy action the administration should pursue, beyond the pandemic response. Their recommendations make up this symposium.

The responses range from concrete policy changes to broad reform ideas and can be grouped into three categories, those that (1) Reverse and Restore; (2) Reinforce; (3) Reform.

Read the introduction, follow the conversation, and share the articles in this symposium using #BidenHealthPolicy.

Reverse and Restore

Hand holding pencil drawing a path.
Waiver withdrawals provide a path forward for the Biden administration to end a grab bag of Trump-era Section 1115 waivers. Read more
WASHINGTON, DC - OCT. 8, 2019: Rally for LGBTQ rights outside Supreme Court as Justices hear oral arguments in three cases dealing with discrimination in the workplace because of sexual orientation.
The Biden administration and all three branches of government are poised to finally deliver a sex-based civil rights movement in health care. Read more
U.S. Capitol Building at Night
The Biden administration could use legislative overrides to address any number of incorrect judicial interpretations of federal health laws. Read more
Fairview Heights, IL—Jan 5, 2020; Sign on medical clinic announces Planned Parenthood branch is now open, the southern Illinois clinic was built to serve St Louis after Missouri restricted abortions.
The Trump administration left Title X in tatters. The Biden administration has said it will undo the harm. But more than restoration is in order. Read more

Reinforce

doctor holding clipboard.
The Biden administration has a powerful tool for encouraging state-level behavioral health innovation in the § 1115 Medicaid waiver process. Read more
The focus of the nascent Biden administration has been on making private health insurance more durable, not deconstructing it. Read more
stethoscope, pills, ampules, and notepad with "claim denied" written on it.
Insurers are increasingly crafting their coverage terms in ways that undermine a vital consumer protection. Read more

Reform

Map of the United States.
If states can demonstrate success in implementing progressive health reforms, national health reform may follow. Read more
Close-up Of Stethoscope On Us Currency And American Flag.
There are many highly-trained physicians in the world who would be happy to work in the U.S. Why not let them in and introduce some free-market competition? Read more
U.S. Capitol Building.
Expanding health insurance coverage may be on the menu through budget reconciliation. Read more
Grafton, Illinois, USA, June 1, 2019 -Car submerged under flood water in small river town, Grafton, Illinois, as Mississippi River floods roads, businesses and houses. vehicle under water, men in boat
Our government bails out large risks in many arenas. Yet we fail to backstop the most human risk of all — our vulnerability to suffering and death.  Read more
People protesting with signs that say "healthcare is a human right" and "medicare for all."
The Biden administration should offer employers a Medicare-based public health insurance option for their employee coverage. Read more
Game of whack-a-mole.
The Biden/Harris administration appears uniquely poised to implement a comprehensive initiative to address health care consolidation.  Read more
Hand arranging wood block pyramid with health icons on each block.
An ERISA preemption waiver presents a long-overdue update to health care regulation with a lot to recommend it to the Biden Administration. Read more
Medical bill and health insurance claim form with calculator.
Price transparency has long eluded the health care industry, but change — fueled by rare bipartisan support — is afoot.  Read more
Emergency department entrance.
My message for President Joe Biden and his administration is a simple one. Invite physicians to create an ethical health care system. Read more

Editor-in-Chief: Chloe Reichel

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