Robert F. Kennedy Jr is reshaping the American healthcare system. His latest move is terminating about $500 million in 22 mRNA research contracts as, among other things, these vaccines mutate quickly and can prolong pandemics versus stop them. “To replace the troubled mRNA programs, we're prioritizing the development of safer, broader vaccine strategies like whole virus vaccines and novel platforms that don't collapse when viruses mutate," said Kennedy.
Sadly, the news has been met with far too much definitive criticism. CBS had a report saying “people are going to die” in the title. The Guardian said RFK’s action is a “perilous” move. It’s still shocking the headlines would be so dire given we’ve all known how overblown the rhetoric was when it came to Covid vaccines for children, as fatalities for kids under 18 were .00006 or .006%, according to CDC numbers. The fact that these figures weren’t discussed gave rise to the backlash against healthcare authorities, which paved the way for RFK to take over the top healthcare role in the country. People who were anti-Covid vaccine were “silenced,” said Robert Andrews, CEO of The Health Transformation Alliance who previously served as a Democratic congressman in NJ.
As a Democrat, Robert is an outlier when it comes to support for RFK. Half of Democrats hold an unfavorable view of RFK vs 60% of Republicans who approve of him. While Robert doesn’t like RFK’s vaccine policies, he says he is a “refreshing” presence, given his opposing views to certain scientific data. Science is after all the pursuit of truth and healthy debate. One area of RFK’s policies that Robert supports is RFK’s push for healthy living habits, which puts the onus on individuals to take more responsibility about the choices they make.
He also wants to see accountability in the healthcare system by pushing outcome-based care economic models. In other words - value-based care - payment mechanisms that reward physicians who produce better outcomes.
As CEO of The Health Transformation Alliance, Robert has a lot of leverage. His organization represents 70 corporations that have a combined spending power of $27 billion. In our interview, we talk about why he likes RFK and his policies; what other policies he’d like to see enacted. As “an original author of the Affordable Care Act,” he would also like to see value-based economics in the Medicaid system.
You can learn more about Robert on his profile page: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robert-andrews-75b96011b/ as well as the HTA page: https://www.linkedin.com/company/health-transformation-alliance/posts/?feedView=all
You can follow the HTA on X: https://x.com/HTACOOP
Interview coverage:
1:17 - The role of the HTA and its mission to move healthcare to adopt value-based care pricing (e.g. performance bonuses).
4:40 - How to measure outcomes and the standards of care.
5:35 - Examples of where transactions have been reduced using value-based economics. (e.g. one carrier’s remission rate is far better than the market as they’ve zeroed in on pharmacy formulary and instituted programs for second opinions, etc.)
8:44 - Why Democrats don’t approve of RFK.
13:37 - Society’s reaction to Covid and increased skepticism. Refreshing that RFK has an opposing view.
15:00 - People who were anti-Covid vaccination were silenced.
18:54 - RFK’s push for healthy habits and the narrative around the medical industrial complex’s profit-motive around obesity. Industry in food and alcohol and healthcare that cause and benefit from obesity.
26:15 - The administration’s proclivity to support healthcare credits to incentivize healthy living.
27:40 - The idea of lowering premiums for people who see a PCP. The doctor is much more likely to address a person’s healthy or unhealthy habits.
29:00 - Taxpayer-funded SNAP food stamp program should pay for healthier foods vs junk food and soda.
31:24 - What RFK can do? More Medicaid dollars focused on value-based care to produce better outcomes. If Medicaid reduces pre-term births, it saves a lot of money.
35:40 - Wellness farms and initiatives around mental health.
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