President Donald Trump unveils sweeping health care overhaul

President Donald Trump unveiled sweeping health care changes Thursday designed to cut insurance premiums, lower drug prices and give Americans more control over their medical choices.

“We’re calling it the Great Health Care Plan,” Trump said in a video posted on social media and at whitehouse.gov/greathealthcare. “Instead of putting the needs of big corporations and special interests first, our plan finally puts you first and puts more money in your pocket.”

The proposal, which would require congressional approval, would end the Affordable Care Act practice of sending subsidies directly to insurance companies and instead route those funds to individuals. 

“It goes to you, and then you take the money and buy your own health care,” Trump said. “Nobody has ever heard of that before, and that’s the way it is: The big insurance companies lose, and the people of our country win.”

The plan would also lock in discounts on prescription drugs through what Trump described as a “most favored nation” pricing agreement, aligning U.S. drug prices with what other countries pay.

“Under this policy, the prices of many drugs will be slashed by 300%, 400% and even 500% starting this month at TrumpRx.gov,” he said. “Instead of Americans paying the highest drug prices in the world, which we have for decades, we will now be paying the lowest cost paid by any other nation.”

Promoting transparency

Additional measures would require insurance companies to post information in plain English, including rate and coverage comparisons, the share of revenue spent on claims versus overhead and profits, denial rates, and average wait times for routine procedures.

Health care providers and insurers that accept Medicare or Medicaid would be required to post prices and fees upfront, a move the White House said would “restore accountability, transparency and power back to patients.” 

The plan would also eliminate what Trump called “giant kickbacks to insurance brokers and corporate middlemen” and fully fund the Affordable Care Act’s cost-sharing reduction program. Trump said that could reduce premiums on some plans by 10% to 15%.

“It’s called the Great Health Care Plan because it’s great health care at a lower price,” he said. “It mandates unprecedented accountability and transparency from insurance companies and all health care providers so that special interests can no longer profit at your expense.”

Trump urged Congress, which Republicans control, to move quickly on the proposal ahead of the November midterm elections.

“We have to do it right now so we can get immediate relief to the American people,” he said. “The people I love.”

The announcement comes on the last day for Americans to select an Obamacare plan, Newsweek reported, with costs expected to increase since Congress has not renewed federal subsidies.

Experts say the main driver of high healthcare costs is the amount hospitals and doctors charge their patients, not insurance company profits. 

Even if Trump holds insurers accountable, “it’s not going to be a significant reduction until there is a way that they are paying the providers less,” Ed Haislmaier, a health policy researcher at the Heritage Foundation, told Politico last week.

Sen. Rick Scott, R-Florida, who was CEO of hospital chain HCA Healthcare, emphasized a holistic approach to cutting prices – something Trump appears to be doing in his proposal by restoring transparency and market forces.

“Insurance can’t charge a whole bunch less if the hospitals charge more,” he told Politico. “You got to look at how you operationally make things cheaper.”

This is a breaking story and may be updated.