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.