Trump administration, HHS stepping away from Affordable Care Act promotion, bundled payments

Lacking a repeal and replacement bill for the Affordable Care Act, President Trump appears to be following through on his Twitter promise to "let Obamacare implode."

The Trump administration and the Department of Health and Human Services is distancing itself from several groups which in the past have helped market open enrollment, according to talkingpointsmemo.

HHS has not reached out to the Latino Affordable Care Act Coalition, the United Methodist Church, the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American Medical Student Association, the National Urban League, the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health, the National Hispanic Medical Association, and the National Partnership for Women and Families, according to the report.

Open enrollment in the ACA marketplace starts November 1.

The new bundled payment model for cardiac care coordination and cardiac rehabilitation may also be on the chopping block, along with unspecified changes to the joint replacement model, according to a proposed rule published August 10 in the Office of Management and Budget.

[Also: Bundled payment models for cardiac care, joint replacement, delayed]

The models were introducted by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' Innovation Center, or CMMI, run by Patrick Conway, MD, who last week announced he was leaving CMS to head Blue Cross Blue Shield North Carolina.

HHS Secretary Tom Price, an orthopedic surgeon appointed by the president, has consistently voiced his opposition to mandatory bundled payment programs.

[Also: Tom Price might soften bundled payments, but healthcare orgs will stay the course]

The programs were to allow physicians bonuses under MACRA's advanced alternative payment model.

Twitter: @SusanJMorse