President Donald Trump on Thursday unveiled the framework of the “Great Health Care Plan” he wants Congress to enact as Republicans face growing pressure to address rising medical costs and insurance premiums after subsidies expire.
The White House said Trump’s plan formalizes his approach to lowering drug prices by tying them to the lowest prices paid in other countries.
At the heart of the plan is a proposal to give Americans direct payments into health savings accounts, allowing them to manage their insurance independently of the federal government.
What did Trump say?
In a recorded video shared by the White House to announce the plan, Trump said: “The government will pay the money directly to you. It will go to you and you will take the money and buy your own health care.”
“I urge Congress to put this framework into law without delay – it must be done now so that we can get immediate relief to the American people,” Trump said in a video message.
Democrats condemned the plan, calling it an insufficient solution to address high health care costs, the AP reported. It was not immediately clear whether any members of Congress were taking steps to introduce the Republican president’s plan.
The concept echoes an idea debated among Republican senators last year. Democrats argued that the bills would not adequately cover costs for most consumers.
Expanded tax credits that helped lower insurance costs for most Affordable Care Act enrollees are set to expire at the end of 2025, despite Democrats forcing a 43-day government shutdown over the issue.
Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, is leading a bipartisan group of 12 senators working on a compromise to extend those subsidies for two years while imposing new eligibility limits. The proposal would also create a health savings account option in the second year that Trump and other Republicans have favored.
Trump said his plan aims to lower premiums by fully funding cost-sharing reductions, or CSRs, a type of financial assistance that insurers provide to low-income “Obamacare” enrollees on silver or moderate plans.
From 2014 to 2017, the federal government reimbursed insurance companies for CSR. The first Trump administration in 2017 stopped these payments. To make up for the lost funds, insurers raised premiums on silver-level plans, which in turn increased the financial assistance many enrollees received to cover premiums.
Health analysts noted that while restoring CSR funding would likely lower silver-level premiums, as Trump claims, it could also inadvertently lead to higher net premiums for many people with bronze and gold plans.
(With agency input)
