The 2016 Year in Review: Winners and losers

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Turbulent times always produce winners and losers, and the 2016 elections, MACRA, the 21st Century Cures Act and the general pace of change in the healthcare industry created plenty. Here are just a few.

WINNERS

HCA CEO R. Milton Johnson

While other investor-owned hospital companies saw share prices tumble in 2016, HCA relied on organic growth in its 14 major markets to post gains in earnings and stock price.

House Speaker Paul Ryan

Donald Trump's victory and the GOP's continued control of Congress sharply increases the odds that Ryan will be able to push through his long-sought overhauls of Medicaid and Medicare.

Rep. Tom Price

The orthopedic surgeon from Georgia has been one of the ACA's most persistent critics. If he's confirmed as HHS secretary next year, he'll get to preside over the Trump administration's moves to dismantle it.

Acting CMS Administrator Andy Slavitt

Slavitt's intensive outreach to physician groups on the Medicare Access and CHIP Reauthorization Act won praise even from doctors who have criticized the law and the regulations.

WellCare CEO Ken Burdick

While larger insurance mergers were slowed by antitrust scrutiny, WellCare moved on three deals that will significantly boost its profile, including a pending $800 million acquisition of Universal American Corp.

PhRMA CEO Stephen Ubl and AdvaMed CEO Scott Whitaker

The trade groups won passage of the 21st Century Cures Act, designed to reduce the costs and increase the speed of the Food and Drug Administration approval process for their members' products.

LOSERS

President Barack Obama

After spending enormous political capital on the Affordable Care Act, Obama faces the unraveling of his healthcare legacy as President-elect Donald Trump vows to quickly repeal and replace the law.

Community Health Systems CEO Wayne Smith

CHS plans to sell low-margin hospitals and may unload the whole company in the face of operating losses and a $15 billion debt load.

Congress

Lawmakers left for a seven-week recess in July despite failing to reach an agreement on funding to combat the spread of Zika.

Food and Drug Administration

The agency, criticized during the campaign by Donald Trump as slowing medical innovations, now will have to change and speed up its drug and device approval processes under the new 21st Century Cures Act, with less emphasis on randomized trials.

Mylan CEO Heather Bresch

Facing intense criticism over price increases for its EpiPen epinephrine auto-injectors, Bresch's company had to boost the value of discount cards, expand patient assistance, and offer a cheaper generic version of the device.

Penn State Hershey Health System and PinnacleHealth System

They pulled the plug on a merger to avoid a lengthy battle with the Federal Trade Commission after a federal appeals court revived the government's antitrust challenge.