President Trump plans to deliver money straight to healthcare patients
Once again, President Donald Trump has made a far-fetched promise to the American people: his “Great Healthcare Plan” is a formula that will supposedly deliver money directly to citizens instead of insurance companies. However, many are skeptical about this plan’s execution. Healthcare prices have soared over the past couple of years as hospitals, drug companies, and pharmacy managers have raised the price of healthcare—all while the average annual salary growth has barely outpaced inflation, highlighting America’s need for cheaper healthcare. In 2023 alone, healthcare spending rose by a whopping 9.4%. The past few years have made the growing need for government-subsidized healthcare evident. If Trump can pull off his “Great Healthcare Plan,” the American people will applaud him. The plan’s ambiguity and Trump’s unclear authority over the matter endanger the prospect of actual reform.
When President Trump unveiled his plan on January 15, he promised that Americans would pay “the lowest price in the world.” Trump claimed to cut prescription drug prices, reduce annual insurance payments, and hold insurance companies accountable, all while aiming for transparency about healthcare prices. Unfortunately, the plan does not include extending the Affordable Care Act’s enhanced premium subsidies. The Affordable Care Act, known colloquially as Obamacare, lowers healthcare costs for families with incomes at or below the federal poverty level. The exclusion of this act, which ended in late 2025, will leave 20 million Americans reeling at insurance prices this year. While Obamacare focused on lowering costs for Americans living below the poverty line, Trump’s healthcare plan is ambiguous about exactly who it will benefit.
If executed properly, Trump’s “Great Healthcare Plan” would be incredibly beneficial to the American people, but its vagueness leaves people skeptical. In 2024, healthcare spending grew to $15,474 per person in the U.S., a 7.2% increase from 2023, marking the second year of over 7% growth in healthcare spending. To enact his plan of action, Trump has insisted that drugmakers lower prices within two months by writing them letters. The President’s insistence on low drug prices started when he signed an executive order last May, in which he asked the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to come up with reasonable prices for drugs. Over the years, the prices of brand-name drugs have soared as they raise prices knowing they face no competition in the market, and drug companies grow richer and richer. Additionally, most drugmakers are unlikely to comply, as President Trump lacks the authority to force companies like Johnson & Johnson, Amgen, and Eli Lilly to sell their products at “Most Favored Nation” rates, at or below the lowest prices paid in peer countries.
In his letter, Trump outlined several consequences for static drug prices. Mainly, he plans to apply a new policy drafted by HHS, in which drug importation is increased while drug exportation is decreased. President Trump also threatens that the FDA can revoke approvals for drugs they may find unsafe if drug prices are not lowered soon.
Currently, it is unclear whether Trump’s “Great Healthcare Plan” will be carried out or tossed away in search of other pressing issues, like his loud acquisition of Greenland. In a time of financial instability and extreme wealth inequality, healthcare is often sacrificed by those who would rather spend their income putting food on the table rather than checking into hospitals. It is more important now than ever to lower healthcare costs, though Trump’s vague healthcare plan likely isn’t what the American people need.
