President Trump unveiled a long-awaited health care plan Thursday designed to deliver government assistance directly to consumers instead of routing money to insurance companies under the Obamacare framework.
The program also calls on Congress to pass into law the “most-favored nation” prices he negotiated with top drugmakers to peg the cost of medicine to what other developed nations pay.
“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,” Mr. Trump said in a video. “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 health care.”
The White House described the plan as a “framework” that would let Congress fill in the details.
For instance, administration officials did not specify how they would like to send money directly to people, instead of insurance companies.
Dr. Mehmet Oz, director of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, said one route would be tax-advantaged health savings accounts.
He said consumers could “use that money more wisely, let the marketplace play a more active role in driving value and quality into the health care system.”
Mr. Trump’s plan would also force health insurance companies to be more transparent about consumers’ costs and use “plain English” in describing their plans and why they sometimes reject claims.
Sen. Roger Marshall, Kansas Republican, immediately endorsed the plan, saying it would lead to transparent pricing and boost health savings accounts while reducing the role of middlemen who’ve been accused of driving up list prices.
“President Trump’s Great Healthcare Plan includes many of the key reforms we’ve been fighting for in a comprehensive health care package,” Mr. Marshall said. “I’m ready to work with President Trump and my colleagues to get this done.”
Republicans failed to repeal and replace Obamacare during Mr. Trump’s first term, although the president remains focused on addressing problems in the 2010 law during his second term.
Democrats are furious that Republicans last year reduced supersized, Biden-era premiums under Obamacare, which used government subsidies to defray the cost of monthly premiums and make the program more attractive.
Rather than extend the high subsidies, Mr. Trump is pushing Congress to send money directly to Americans so they can choose health care outside the strictures of Obamacare.
“I want to end this flagrant scam and put extra money straight into the health care savings account in your name, and you go out and buy your own health care, and you’ll make a great deal, you’ll get better health care for less money — that way, you can choose the care that is right for your family,” Mr. Trump said in a video.
Mr. Trump also said his plan would enhance a cost-sharing program, letting Americans see lower costs when they adopt Obamacare coverage. The administration estimates it would save taxpayers $36 billion.
The White House plan does not call for replacing Obamacare, root and branch, as Mr. Trump previously pushed for.
The administration defended its plan as a “much broader” revamping of the health system.
The White House said the program should receive bipartisan support in Congress. That will likely be difficult, given hardened views around Obamacare and health policy.
Democrats refused to fund the government for over a month last year, citing the GOP’s refusal to extend the huge Obamacare subsidies.
A bipartisan Senate group had been working on a plan to extend the larger subsidies for two years, with reforms.
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
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