Policy

Andy Slavitt is still sharing his passion for healthcare

Although Andy Slavitt is now the former CMS acting administrator, he’s still sharing his thoughts on the current healthcare ecosystem, both via a recent interview with The New York Times Magazine and Twitter.

By Erin Dietsche on August 10, 2017

Andy Slavitt is no longer the acting administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. But that hasn’t stopped him from continuing to speak out on healthcare’s hottest topics.

In a recent interview with The New York Times Magazine, Slavitt discussed the current status of the Affordable Care Act and what’s happening in Washington.

Despite the fact that the healthcare policy landscape is in turmoil, Slavitt wants to use it to unify the nation. “If you give me 15 minutes, I can create a common bond around a story of the health care system with almost any American,” he told NYT Magazine.

Yet changing people’s minds isn’t an easy feat. Instead, their opinions have to be altered by “something that they feel and discover themselves,” Slavitt said.

Apparently those changes aren’t happening very quickly on Capitol Hill. Calling Congress “a runaway train,” Slavitt underscored a sense of frustration with the latest ACA repeal and replace efforts.

“We are on the brink of allowing ourselves to make bad policy decisions based on obscure political pressures,” he said.

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For the everyday American, the recent goings-on in Washington just go to show how complicated the healthcare debate truly is — and how many people it affects.

“We may not love every law we have on the books, but it’s still our patriotic obligation to support it if the American people have their lives at stake,” Slavitt noted.

As far as his opinion on President Donald Trump, he was pretty clear: “[H]e has not persuaded the country that he’s approaching this with the seriousness required to get the right solutions. And that’s a shame.”

The New York Times Magazine isn’t the only place Slavitt has voiced his thoughts the ACA (and Trump). He’s been quite active on Twitter, replying to this Trump tweet:

With this:

In fact, his interest in the social media site has become more evident following the election, as he has used it as a platform to openly defend Obamacare. His Twitter bio used to read: “After Jan. 20, the mission is not over.”

In addition to keeping busy on the Twitter scene, Slavitt recently took on a new role as senior adviser to AVIA Innovator Network, a health innovation network that helps health systems derisk technology to improve patient care.

Photo: MarianVejcik, Getty Images