March-April. 2025 | The HEALTH

Health Minister Simeon Brown is determined to improve patients’ access to general practitioner( GP) appointments by reducing wait times to under a week. He stressed the need to secure expert input and adequate resources in pursuit of this objective.

In March 2024, five targets to be met by 2030 were outlined:

• Cancer treatment: 90 per cent of patients to receive treatment within 31 days following the decision to initiate treatment.

• Immunisation rates: 95 per cent of children immunised by the

THE President of the United States, Donald J. Trump, signed an executive order to implement stringent regulations on healthcare price transparency. This initiative is part of the broader‘ Make America Healthy Again’ movement.

The 2025 EO,‘ Making America Healthy Again by Empowering Patients with Clear, Accurate, and Actionable Healthcare Pricing Information,’ builds upon EO 13877, which Trump signed in 2019.

Strengthening previous reforms, the 2025 EO directs federal agencies to act within 90 days. The Departments of the Treasury, Labour, and Health and Human Services are tasked with ensuring immediate compliance and addressing age of 24 months.

• Emergency departments: 95 per cent of patients shall be either admitted, discharged or transferred within six hours.

• First specialist assessment: 95 per cent of patients seen within a four-month timeframe.

• Elective treatment: A fourmonth wait target to be met for 95 per cent of patients. While the measured areas regressed under the previous government, Brown acknowledged that the healthcare system did not improve during the national government’ s first year in office either. This recognition led to the initiative to reinstate the targets.

Although hospital funding has increased by 51 per cent in the past six years, primary care funding has only risen by 43 per cent. Brown

Donald Trump

previous delays under the Biden administration.

In the next quarter, hospitals and insurers are expected to disclose the exact costs of medical services and prescription drug prices. Additionally, the new order

Simeon Brown

emphasised the need for a better balance in resource allocation. He stated that the government must hold the healthcare system accountable to ensure that funding leads to better access and improved medical outcomes.

To keep the public informed, Brown assured that quarterly reports on healthcare performance would be released soon.

mandates standardised pricing to facilitate cost comparison across different healthcare providers and insurers.

Through the EO, American citizens will have greater agency over their healthcare choices. Stricter enforcement policies will also be implemented to ensure compliance.

“ Our goal was to give patients the knowledge they need about the real price of healthcare services. They’ ll be able to check them, compare them, and go to different locations so they can shop for the highest-quality care,” stated Trump.

Ultimately, by enabling patients to make cost-effective choices, the EO helps drive healthcare costs down.

WELLVANA has expanded its operations by acquiring CVS Health’ s ® Medicare Shared Savings Programme( MSSP), which was formerly overseen by CVS Accountable Care™.

This acquisition was executed through an all-stock transaction, granting CVS Health a financial stake in Wellvana’ s growth.

“ Primary care is the engine that reduces cost while improving the health of our communities, and we’ re on a mission to make it life-changing,” said Wellvana President and Chief Executive Officer( CEO) Kyle Wailes.

Wellvana’ s approach to supporting healthcare providers in value-based care is now enhanced by the addition of CVS Health’ s expertise and scale. The company currently supports healthcare providers across 40 states and serves approximately one million Medicare patients.

“ Our high-touch approach that supports physicians, health systems and payors in valuebased care has proven effective. The complementary expertise and scale of CVS Health’ s MSSP business supercharges our impact and accelerates our drive to make patients the ultimate beneficiaries of more valuable care.”

Through this acquisition, Wellvana has strengthened its Accountable Care Organisation( ACO) presence and its affiliated networks. This move also grants Wellvana access to advanced technology and industry insights from CVS Health’ s MSSP business.

At the same time, CVS Health remains committed to valuebased care. The company decided to transfer this part of its business to Wellvana, believing that Wellvana is better equipped to invest and grow the programme.

Physicians who join Wellvana through this acquisition will have access to additional resources, such as scheduling assistance, administrative support, and value-based care training.

Over time, they may also qualify for Foundational Care™, a programme that provides medical management between appointments and post-hospitalisations.