What the health sector thinks about Kamala Harris

July 23, 2024

*This article originally appeared in Politico Pro

Industry leaders and advocates expect she’ll continue most of President Joe Biden’s policies, but may shift further to the left on some.

Leaders across the health sector expect Kamala Harris, if she were elected president, to mainly continue the policies of President Joe Biden. In cases where they see the possibility for her to diverge, it’s in a more progressive direction.

More than a dozen health lobbyists, association leaders and policy experts interviewed for this article shared expectations for how Harris will tackle health costs, access to care and enforcement of Biden administration regulations.

The view that she’ll pursue continuity with the current administration was widely shared, though some expect she’ll more aggressively seek to attack corporate consolidation, expand abortion access and liberalize drug laws.


Global health

Expect Harris to continue the current administration’s approach to global health, said Jen Kates, a senior vice president and the director of the Global Health & HIV Policy Program at KFF, a health policy research organization.

That means prioritizing multilateralism, human rights and reproductive health.

Harris will likely support abortion and LGBTQ+ rights abroad, as she has at home, said Elisha Dunn-Georgiou, the president and CEO of the Global Health Council, a coalition of global health organizations.

“There may be chances she would be better on the health and human rights connection as well as the health and climate connection” than Biden, Dunn-Georgiou said.

Dunn-Georgiou also wondered whether Harris would move more aggressively than Biden to protect Palestinians’ health care access.

Read the full article here.