CEO Power Panel: Despite expected gridlock, divided government may still be boon to hospitals

The Democrats’ 40-seat majority sweep of the U.S. House of Representatives brightened hospital prospects for looming money battles with the Trump administration, Congress and Big Pharma.

But by a roughly 60%-to-40% margin, healthcare executives think the expected political gridlock will hinder needed progress in a way that hurts their organizations, according to Modern Healthcare’s most recent Power Panel, a survey of 75 healthcare CEOs. A majority see gridlock as a sign of escalating polarization rather than a means to achieve bipartisanship, and less than 20% saw the federal midterm elections leading to a split government as a positive.

“To the extent that a divided Congress can lead to reasonable bipartisan health policy, (the divided government) is positive,” said...