President Trump released his “great healthcare plan” on Thursday that he vowed will put Americans first and allow them to purchase their own healthcare options, thereby lowering the cost of prescription drugs and insurance premiums.
“The government is going to pay the money directly to you – it goes to you – and then you take the money and buy your own healthcare,” he said in a video announcing his plan.
The proposal will lower prescription drug prices, decrease insurance premiums, and require greater transparency from insurance companies when it comes to coverage and rate details, according to a White House fact sheet.
“The big insurance companies lose and the people of our country win,” Trump said.
His plan requires passage by Congress, which is currently controlled by Republicans although it could face tough opposition in the Senate. Trump urged lawmakers to pass it immediately.
“Do it right now,” he said.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) told reporters on Capitol Hill that he’s just seen “the high level” of the plan and didn’t comment on a timeline for passage.
“I haven’t gotten into the weeds on it, but, you know, obviously, they’re trying to get at the issue of costs,” he said. “And there’s some, I think, things in there on transparency, which you would think would be no-brainers, and I think be important terms of, you know, having people understand- if you’re gonna have a marketplace where people know what costs are, you’ve got to have transparency around that.”
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) also praised the plan but didn’t indicate when the House would take it up.
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“We are thankful for President Trump’s determination to lower health care costs, and House Republicans are anxious to continue working closely with the White House every day to deliver real results for the American people,” Johnson said in a statement to the Post.
The White House is confident, however the plan will pass.
“Congress and the White House are going to work together to put this plan into action,” press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in her briefing. ‘The great health care plan will fund a cost sharing reduction program for health care plans, which will save taxpayers at least $36 billion and reduce the most common Obamacare plan premiums by over 10%.”
Under the president’s plan, the government would place funds in healthcare savings accounts for Americans to use. It would also create a website – Trump RX – to make safe pharmaceutical drugs available for over the counter purchase.
Administration officials estimated people would save between 10 percent and 15 percent on health care premiums under the president’s proposal.
Dr. Mehmet Oz, briefing reporters on the specifics of the plan, said making more drugs over the counter would reduce time and cost because people would no longer have to make doctor’s appointments for a prescription.
“Trump RX is a clearinghouse – sort of a marketplace,” he said. “It’s not that we’re going to be selling the products directly. We’re going to give you access to the people who have the best prices and transparency to that process. So you could buy OTC, over the counter drugs there, but you could also buy at a local pharmacy, and it might be that the local pharmacy is the best price anyway for some of these less expensive medications. We do think that making verified safe pharmaceutical drugs available over the counter will inherently reduce the price.”
The FDA would give its stamp of approval to any drug moved to over-the-counter status. Oz said options being considered included anti-inflammatory drugs and peptic ulcer products like omeprazole.
Under the proposal, money would switch from Obamacare to Health Savings Accounts. A senior administration official said the White House was flexible on to how these accounts would work.
“There’s a lot of different ways that could happen with different portions of funding,” the official said.
Officials also expressed optimism the plan would get congressional approval this year, noting the administration had been working with Capitol Hill on the details.
“We’ve gotten good reception on the Hill, and we look forward to working with our Hill allies, and think that many, pretty much, this entire package can be bipartisan and get bipartisan support. So we look very forward to moving this in 2026,” a senior administration official said.
