Donald Trump is on track to enter theWhite House as a man who has no experience with shaping health policy in Washington but has plenty ofexperience with buying, paying for and fuming at the cost of healthbenefits.
|Here's a look at five people Trump has been using, or could use,to get ideas about how to handle the Affordable Care Act repeal effort and otherhealth policy efforts.
|1. Dr. Ben Carson
Dr. Ben Carson, Trump's most visible health policy advisorso far, is a former Republican presidential contender and theformer director of pediatric neurosurgery at the Johns HopkinsChildren's Center.
|Carson made a universal health savings account program the focusof his proposal for replacing the Affordable Care Act.
|During a victory speech early Wednesday morning, Trump singledCarson out for praise, and some have said he could be Trump'ssecretary of Health and Human Services.
|One virtue Carson could bring to HHS would be replacementsfrom John Hopkins for the Democratic-leaning policy researchcenters that a Trump administration U.S. Department of Health andHuman Services might be leery of working with.
|2. Mike Leavitt
Mike Leavitt, a former Utah governor who served as HHS secretaryfrom 2005 through 2009, under President George W. Bush, beganserving as a Trump transition advisor in May.
|In September, while participating in a health policy discussionorganized by the Nashville Health Care Council, he emphasized thatthe next president should do more to build a strong personalrelationship with members of Congress, possibly by eating breakfastwith lawmakers.
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3. Steve Mnuchin
Steve Mnuchin, an investment banker who's said to be a topTrump transition team pick for Treasury secretary, is also a lifetrustee of the New York Presbyterian Hospital and the UCLA HealthSystem Board.
|Through Mnuchin's participation on hospital and health caresystem boards, he has probably gained a solid understanding ofhospitals' provider contracting concerns.
|He also helped finance the movies "Gravity" and "Life ofPi."
|4. Steve Forbes
Steve Forbes, the chairman of Forbes Media, made a point in Julyof going on CNN to call Trump "absolutely unique" and sayinghe would vote for Trump.
|In addition to being a strong supporter of Trump, Forbes was astrong supporter of the health savings account concept years beforethe modern health savings account program existed.
|5. Adam Hamm
One possible dark horse candidate for a role as Trumpadministration health policy player could be Adam Hamm, theoutgoing North Dakota insurance commissioner.
|Hamm announced plans to give up the post voluntarily, withoutdiscussing his plans for the future.
|He has had experience with overseeing HealthCare.gov state ACAprograms in North Dakota, and he has been active at the KansasCity, Missouri-based National Association of InsuranceCommissioners. The NAIC appointed him in 2014 to serve a two-yearterm as the state insurance commissioner representative on theFinancial Stability Oversight Council.
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