White House press secretary Caroline Levitt outlined the “four common-sense pillars” of President Donald Trump’s newly introduced “Great Health Care Plan,” which is being proposed to Congress.
During a press briefing on Thursday, Levitt shared the president’s vision. The first pillar focuses on “permanently lowering prescription drug prices” through the codification of Trump’s Most Favored Nation status and agreements with pharmaceutical companies.
Levitt stated, “Congress can achieve this by codifying President Trump’s historic Most Favored Nation status.” She emphasized that the initiative aims to ensure Americans pay the same low prescription drug prices as those in other countries.
Since late September, the president has signed MFN agreements with 14 major drug manufacturers, including names like Amgen, AstraZeneca, and Pfizer.
The second pillar proposes to eliminate billions in taxpayer-funded subsidies to insurance companies, redirecting those funds to eligible Americans so they can choose their own health insurance, according to Levitt.
Additionally, it would support the “Health Plan Cost-Sharing Reduction Program” and remove “kickbacks from pharmacy benefit managers to large brokerages,” she noted.
The White House indicates that the cost reduction program is expected to cost taxpayers at least $36 billion, as per the Congressional Budget Office’s estimates.
The third pillar aims to enhance price transparency by mandating that “health care providers or insurance companies that accept either Medicare or Medicaid prominently display their pricing,” Levitt explained, mentioning that this approach enjoys bipartisan backing.
Finally, Levitt mentioned that the framework aims to assist Americans in making informed purchasing choices by requiring insurers to present rate and coverage comparisons in straightforward language on their websites.
“These actions make up President Trump’s comprehensive health care plan, arguably the most ambitious agenda for lowering health care costs ever proposed by the federal government,” she asserted to the reporters.
Levitt urged Congress to act quickly on the president’s proposal. On January 6, Trump encouraged House Republicans to prioritize health care during a gathering at the Trump Kennedy Center.
“If you want to shift this issue, you’ve been focused on things like the border and the preferential nations matter. Now you need to take health care back from the Democrats, who want to fight it. Why? Because they’re all bound to insurance companies,” he added.
