Amanda Pedersen 1

January 20, 2017

2 Min Read
Why Did Healthcare Get Left Out Of Trump’s Inaugural Speech?

President Trump touched on plenty of hot-button issues during his 16-minute inaugural address Friday. But not one of them had to do with healthcare.

Amanda Pedersen

President Donald Trump

In the 16 minutes that he spoke to the American people after being sworn in Friday as the 45th president of the United States, Donald Trump managed to use 1,433 words, 24 of which had never before been uttered during a U.S. inaugural address. And yet, not one of them had anything to do with healthcare.

The topic is also curiously missing from the newly launched Whitehouse.gov website. The site clearly lists what the Trump Administration views as "top issues" - six of them, in fact - but healthcare isn't one of them.

This struck at least some industry followers as odd, given how much attention has been paid in recent weeks to repealing and replacing the Affordable Care Act (ACA). It was especially notable in light of Trump's recent revelation that his own plan for replacing Obamacare is nearly complete, and would provide "insurance for everybody," along with lower deductibles.

"Not mentioned in Trump speech: Hillary Clinton, Obamacare, democracy," Tweeted Eliana Johnson, a national political reporter for Politico.

Oh, but "they don't talk about policy," noted a Twitter user that identifies himself only as Ron @cajunmonkey439.

Sure, but that didn't stop the president from reiterating his position on several other key issues, such as border security, infrastructure, and "bringing back" American jobs.

Meanwhile, most of the medtech industry seems to be in a "wait and see" mode regarding what a replacement "Trumpcare" policy could look like, and what that might mean for hospitals and device companies.

Obamacare wasn't entirely left out of the inauguration spotlight, however.  While the new president was focusing on the "American carnage" and setting the tone for an "America first" approach to government, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi and the House Democratic caucus all sported a blue button Friday with the #ProtectOurCare hashtag.

Pelosi used her Twitter account to explain that the button was meant as "a symbol of our solidarity and support for the ACA during today's inauguration."

Amanda Pedersen is Qmed's news editor. Reach her at [email protected].

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