Trump Unveils Health Plan Targeting Drug, Insurance Costs

Does Trump's health care plan empower patients with market reforms, or recycle failed ideas that will destabilize coverage?

JAN 16·Updated JAN 17

Trump Unveils Health Plan Targeting Drug, Insurance Costs

Story

Above: President Donald Trump exits Air Force One on Jan. 13, 2026. Image credit: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

The Facts

U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday released a health care plan, called the "Great Healthcare Plan," calling on Congress to pass measures aimed at lowering drug prices and health insurance costs.
Donald Trump
Donald Trump
The plan proposes sending health care funds directly to eligible Americans to allow them to buy health insurance of their choice, rather than extending enhanced Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies that expired at the end of 2025.
The Fiscal Times
USA Today
Trump's plan calls for Congress to pass a "most favored nation" policy requiring all new drugs introduced to the U.S. market to be sold at prices no greater than those of comparable countries. The plan also pushes measures to strengthen drug price transparency and allow more verified safe pharmaceutical drugs to be sold over the counter.
USA Today
STAT
FOX News
The proposal includes a "cost-sharing reduction program" for health care that the White House projects would save taxpayers $36 billion and reduce premiums through the ACA by 10%. Trump also wants to require health insurance companies to publish their profits and the percentage of revenue paid out to claims versus overhead costs.
USA Today
CNN
Breitbart
This comes as Thursday was the final day to select an ACA health insurance plan across much of the country. About 22.8 million Americans had signed up so far, according to federal data, down from a record 24 million last year.
FOX News
The Associated Press
The House passed a three-year extension of the ACA subsidies on Jan. 8 after 17 Republicans joined with Democrats, but the bill is not expected to pass in the Republican-led Senate. A bipartisan group of 12 senators has been trying to devise a compromise plan on the subsidies.
Breitbart
The Associated Press

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The Spin

Pro-Trump narrative

Congress must codify Trump's plan, which finally fixes the damage from Obamacare by empowering patients instead of bureaucrats. Market-based reforms require price transparency and giving subsidies directly to consumers in order to slash prescription drug costs and expand coverage options. These commonsense conservative principles restore accountability and make health care affordable again.

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Anti-Trump narrative

This so-called health care plan is a lazy, detail-free framework that recycles failed Republican ideas from decades past. Sending subsidies directly to individuals instead of insurers will destabilize markets, leave millions uninsured and create a death spiral for people with preexisting conditions. This vague document offers nothing new and will only increase costs for ordinary Americans.