Trump gathers hospital CEOs for veterans' healthcare discussion
Leaders from the Mayo Clinic, Johns Hopkins, Partners Healthcare and Cleveland Clinic were in attendance.
President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday met with CEOs of nonprofit hospitals including John Noseworthy of the Mayo Clinic, Paul Rothman of Johns Hopkins Medicine, David Torchiana of Partners HealthCare and Toby Cosgrove of the Cleveland Clinic, according to a report in Bloomberg.
Trump, who is reportedly considering privatizing the Department of Veterans Affairs, discussed healthcare for veterans, including allowing them to get care at hospitals outside of the VA system, published reports said.
[Also: Doctors, veterans ensnared in botched fix for VA health program]
Cosgrove, a Vietnam veteran, and IQ Management Services CEO Luis Quinonez, are reportedly both under consideration to head the Department of Veterans Affairs.
Earlier this month Cosgrove was tapped to take part in Trump's Strategic and Policy Forum designed to grow and strengthen the economy.
The group weighed public-private partnerships and other options that would make it possible for veterans to go to any hospital for care, inside the VA system or outside of it, a senior transition official told Bloomberg after the meeting.
"I am honored to be a part of the president-elect's important discussions around healthcare; especially as it relates to our veterans," Cosgrove, MD, said in a statement Thursday. "Healthcare is an important and growing part of the US economy that affects every single one of us."
Veterans advocacy groups have voiced opposition to privatizing the VA hospital system.
[Also: 'Trump effect' causes trepidation among healthcare leaders]
For hospitals, privatization represents a potential windfall, as the VA system spends about $70 billion a year on medical care and more veterans would be spending these dollars within a wide-range of providers, according to Bloomberg.
The 90-minute closed-door session was held at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida.
The CEOs reportedly left the meeting without speaking to reporters.
[Also: Hospital CEOs list financial concerns as top worry, point to value-based care, study finds]
It is not known whether Trump and the healthcare leaders discussed the Affordable Care Act, which the president-elect has promised to repeal and replace.
"Dr. Noseworthy is pleased for the opportunity to discuss the Mayo Model of Care and Mayo Model of Research as potential roadmaps to excellence in all of American health care and share Mayo Clinic's views on critical success factors needed to solve our nation's most pressing and complex health challenges," said Mayo spokesperson Duska Anastasijevic.
Rotham said by statement, "I am thankful and encouraged by the president-elect's interest in meeting with leaders from several of the country's healthcare and research institutions. I believe Mr. Trump's interest reflects his recognition of the critical importance of healthcare and biomedical research to the country. Johns Hopkins Medicine remains committed to improving health outcomes for patients, families and communities across the country."
Partners includes Harvard Medical School affiliates Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston.
"At the invitation of the president-elect, Dr. Torchiana met with Mr. Trump and other members of the president-elect's team," said Partners spokesman Rich Copp. "They had a conversation, which touched on a wide range of health care policy issues including quality, affordability, access and biomedical research."
Twitter: @SusanJMorse
