Healthcare
leaders
are
taking
a
stand
in
the
approaching
presidential
election.
Last
week,
more
than
two
dozen
Black
and
Latino
healthcare
technology
leaders
endorsed
Vice
President
Kamala
Harris
for
president
in
an
open
letter.
This
follows
a
similar
letter
signed
by
more
than
500
women
healthcare
leaders
in
support
of
Harris.
The
former
letter
was
organized
by
Abner
Mason,
founder
and
CEO
of
SameSkyHealth;
Dr.
Daniel
Turner-Lloveras,
co-founder
and
CEO
of
The
Latino
Health
Innovation
Alliance
and
SaludConTech;
and
Kevin
Dedner,
health-tech
entrepreneur
and
author.
In
the
letter,
the
leaders
note
that
Harris
has
shown
a
“deep
understanding
of
the
structural
barriers
that
communities
of
color
face
in
healthcare.”
They
added
that
she
has
championed
policies
that
expand
digital
health,
support
minority
entrepreneurs
and
help
community-driven
solutions.
“As
healthcare
innovators,
we’ve
dedicated
our
lives
to
building
health-improving,
and
sometimes
life-saving
innovations
and
therapies,”
Mason
told
MedCity
News
in
an
email.
“Without
health
insurance,
these
innovations
would
only
benefit
the
wealthy.
Trump
continues
to
push
to
repeal
the
Affordable
Care
Act
(ACA),
while
refusing
to
offer
a
real
alternative
to
the
45
million
Americans
who
now
get
their
health
insurance
as
a
result
of
the
ACA.
After
a
term
as
President,
and
four
years
since,
Trump
still
has
only
‘concepts
of
a
plan’
for
the
millions
who
will
lose
their
health
insurance
if
he
prevails.
This
is
not
only
insufficient,
it
is
disqualifying.”
Mason
is
referring
to
a
comment
that
Trump
made
during
the
September
presidential
debate,
in
which
he
was
asked
if
he
has
a
plan
for
the
ACA
and
said
that
he
has
“concepts
of
a
plan.”
The
letter
among
women
healthcare
leaders,
meanwhile,
was
led
by
Missy
Krasner,
healthcare
investor
and
board
advisor;
Miriam
Paramore,
health
information
technology
expert;
Lori
Evans
Bernstein,
former
CEO
and
founder
of
Caraway;
Dr.
Molly
Coye,
former
board
member
of
Aetna/American
Hospital
Association;
Laurie
McGraw,
executive
vice
president
of
Transcarent;
and
Audrey
Mann
Cronin,
advisor
to
healthcare
CEOs.
The
group
is
called
the
Women
Healthcare
Leaders
for
Progress.
This
group
is
focused
on
three
areas
within
healthcare:
reproductive
rights,
affordable
health
insurance
and
preserving
Medicare
and
Medicaid.
“[We’ve]
been
around
healthcare
for
a
long
time,”
McGraw
told
MedCity
News
at
the
HLTH
conference
last
week.
“We
know
it’s
complex.
We
know
that
when
there
is
an
opportunity
for
Medicaid
expansion
that
people
get
better
care,
and
we
need
confidence
and
competence
in
the
White
House.
…
We’ve
all
been
in
quite
a
bit
of
shell
shock
still
from
Roe
v.
Wade
being
turned
back.
…
We
can’t
continue
to
go
backward
because
it’s
just
unacceptable.
So
this
was
an
effort
to
say
it
is
too
important
to
play
it
safe.
We’re
going
to
put
our
names
out
there.”
Leading
up
to
the
election,
both
groups
are
trying
to
educate
voters.
Mason
said
he’s
reaching
out
to
media
outlets
with
large
Black
and
Latino
readerships,
including
Black
Enterprise
and
People
of
Color
in
Tech.
Krasner
mentioned
that
the
Women
Healthcare
Leaders
for
Progress
is
organizing
in
swing
states
and
volunteering
to
drive
voters
and
canvass.
While
the
group
isn’t
focused
on
policy
work,
it
is
dedicated
to
spreading
awareness.
Some
healthcare
players
have
also
come
out
in
support
of
Trump,
particularly
VCs,
The
Atlantic
reported.
For
example,
VC
firm
Andreessen
Horowitz
co-founders
Marc
Andreessen
and
Ben
Horowitz
backed
Trump,
though
Horowitz
later
announced
a
“significant
donation”
to
support
Harris,
according
to
the
Financial
Times.
There
is
also
a
group
of
VCs
backing
Harris.
Following
the
election,
Mason
said
his
group
plans
to
meet
with
the
new
administration
—
which
they
hope
will
be
a
Harris
administration
—
to
share
their
perspective.
The
group’s
policy
priorities
for
the
new
administration
include
expanding
digital
access,
implementing
safeguards
against
algorithmic
bias,
investing
in
Medicaid
and
supporting
minority
entrepreneurs.
Krasner
said
that
if
Trump
is
elected,
the
Women
Healthcare
Leaders
for
Progress
will
continue
its
advocacy
work.
If
Harris
is
elected,
however,
“there’s
enough
of
us
that
are
already
working
in
healthcare
that
are
pretty
tapped
in”
with
the
White
House.
Photo:
MarianVejcik,
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