While campaigning, US President Donald Trump told voters he planned to prioritize policies that would make US healthcare more affordable and accessible. Now that he has been elected, Trump has begun building the team he believes can implement those policies.
One key player already tapped by Trump is Dr. Mehmet Oz, whom Trump would like to see lead the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). If approved as Administrator of the CMS, Dr. Oz would be charged with guiding policies and initiatives aimed at caring for the millions of people covered by Medicare, Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program, and the Health Insurance Marketplace.
Another key player Trump selected to bring about the changes he envisions is Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., who was tapped to serve as the US Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS). Following his confirmation of the position, Kennedy now leads the agency charged with enhancing the health and well-being of Americans.
As Dr. Oz and Kennedy seek to drive the type of meaningful change Trump has promised, providing effective, affordable, and accessible care to those needing long-term care will be one key challenge they must overcome. One solution experts hope they will pursue is better support for long-term care pharmacy at home services.
Recognizing the value of long-term care pharmacy at home services
“Recognizing the need for long-term care pharmacy services in patients’ residences of choice is a key call to action for Dr. Oz and Kennedy if they are truly seeking the improvements Trump has promised,” says Lindsay Dymowski, President of Centennial Pharmacy Services and the Long Term Care at Home Pharmacy Quality Commission. “By advocating for CMS to recognize and reimburse long-term care pharmacy services provided in the patient’s home, Dr. Oz would prioritize patient choice and autonomy while supporting the patient’s right to age in place rather than defaulting to facility-based care.”
Dymowski is a long-term home care entrepreneur who is passionate about the pharmacy business and its future in healthcare. In addition to leading Centennial Pharmacy Services, she is the co-founder and president of two industry-leading long term care pharmacy at home companies: The Long Term Care at Home Pharmacy Network and Long Term Care at Home Pharmacy Quality Commission.
Dymowski is the foremost leader in long-term care pharmacy at home, spearheading the successful growth of the sector while providing crucial education and creating quality standards. She represents the industry in key regulatory and legislative conversations, advocating for the integration of home-based long-term care pharmacy services into healthcare ecosystems. Through strategic relationships with the pharmacy and broader healthcare industry, she ensures these essential pharmacy services are accessible and effectively implemented across the board.
“Expanding and supporting long-term care pharmacy at home services would contribute significantly to goals of increasing healthcare accessibility and affordability,” Dymowski says. “By creating specific Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement structures for long-term care pharmacy at home services, Oz would ensure patients could receive the same level of skilled pharmacy care at home as they would in a facility.”
Dymowski’s call to action offers a solution to one of the major problems facing today’s aging population: a lack of access to affordable and reliable long-term care. Reports show that demand for long-term care is steadily growing as the US population ages, but traditional facilities are struggling to find people to manage patient care.
Dymowski suggests Oz could integrate long-term care at home pharmacy services into existing CMS initiatives like Independence at Home or Chronic Care management programs. She also says Oz has the opportunity to encourage value-based care by tying reimbursements for care to measurable outcomes such as medication adherence, reduced hospital readmissions, and improved quality of life.
Empowering cost-saving by supporting home-based care
Not only is access to long-term care becoming more difficult to secure, but prices are increasing for those lucky enough to find it. Recent reports show costs skyrocketing, with a 14.2 percent increase from 2023 to 2024.
“By encouraging increased use of long-term care pharmacy at home services, both Oz and Kennedy could initiate cost-savings for both patients and the industry at large,” Dymowski argues. “It is a lower-cost care model that reduces overhead costs associated with nursing homes and assisted living facilities. In addition, it can reduce the need for costly institutional care by proactively managing chronic conditions and preventing hospital readmissions.”
Dymowski also points out that long-term care pharmacy at home services can enable cost savings by optimizing medication management. By ensuring CMS policies support those services, Oz would introduce clinical and financial benefits stemming from improved medication adherence, reduced drug interactions, and timely interventions.
Building equity into aging in place
Dymowski believes that aging in place and the dignity it empowers should not be something accessible to only a privileged few. She encourages Oz and Kennedy to build greater equity into aging in place by advocating for policies that make long-term care pharmacy at home services available to all seniors, regardless of their income or geographic location.
“It’s time for CMS and HHS to recognize that many seniors prefer to remain in their homes but face systemic barriers that prevent that,” Dymowski says. “Long-term care pharmacy at home services bring those gaps, ensuring equity in access to high-quality care.”
With healthcare costs increasing at alarming rates, Trump’s goals of increasing affordability and accessibility will not be easy to achieve. By supporting the growth of long-term care pharmacy at home services, however, Oz and Kennedy can bring new tools into play that promise to provide better options and drive better outcomes.