Other potential policy changes include:

• Challenging the FDA rule on laboratory developed tests (LDT), which could end up back in the hands of Congress, where it has languished for years.
• Reorganizing the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which has already been discussed by republicans in the current Congress, but the Trump administration is expected to want to act quickly on this.

• Abortion restrictions may tighten nationwide, with possible efforts to restrict telehealth usage and restrict the mailing of abortion medications.

While Congress will have strong support for the Trump agenda, key health care players, particularly chairs of the committees in which health care is in their jurisdiction, will also have ideas about how to address some of these issues. They will want to put their own stamp on some details of how to carry out health policy changes and may have different priorities.

The Trump administration has a large, complex agenda in health policy with few details yet known. However, all indications suggest that many of the policies will represent a significant change in direction, and in some cases a complete reversal, for many programs and how the government operates.

About the author: Stephanie A. Kennan is the senior vice president of federal public affairs at McGuireWoods Consulting, LLC.

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