President-elect Donald Trump met with a group of health system CEOs Wednesday at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla.
Those who met with Mr. Trump in the closed-door session include Boston-based Partners HealthCare President and CEO David Torchiana, MD; Rochester, Minn.-based Mayo Clinic President and CEO John Noseworthy, MD; Baltimore-based Johns Hopkins Medicine CEO Paul Rothman, MD; and Cleveland Clinic President and CEO Toby Cosgrove, MD, according to the Washington Post.
In a statement issued to Bloomberg after the meeting, a senior transition official said the healthcare leaders and Mr. Trump discussed ways to overhaul healthcare for veterans, including options that would allow veterans to go to any hospital for care through a public-private partnerhsip.
A Partners HealthCare spokesman told Bloomberg there were several issues discussed during the meeting with Mr. Trump, including healthcare quality, affordability and biomedical research.
A Cleveland Clinic spokesperson confirmed that message, saying the conversation touched on "a broad range of healthcare topics," according to Bloomberg. Cleveland Clinic's Dr. Cosgrove has met with Mr. Trump on several other occasions, and the president-elect may be considering Dr. Cosgrove to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs. Mr. Trump also named Dr. Cosgrove to a panel that will advise the incoming president on how the government influences job and economic growth.
In a statement issued to the Washington Post, Mayo said Dr. Noseworthy was invited to the meeting to "share his perspective on the future of healthcare delivery, research and excellence."
Johns Hopkins, like the other three systems, provided few details about the meeting. In a statement issued to Bloomberg, Johns Hopkins' Dr. Rothman said, "Johns Hopkins Medicine remains committed to improving health outcomes for patients, families and communities across the country."
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