With the ending of the Enhanced Affordable Care Act premium tax credits, many Americans are looking to the government to help solve the large increases in health insurance premiums. To alleviate the problem, the Trump administration has introduced a short framework proposal titled Trump’s Great Healthcare Plan.
However, because the plan is new, patients across the country are looking to understand Trump’s great healthcare plan and determine whether finding affordable medications still matters.
This article will answer some questions you may have about the proposal titled Trump’s Great Healthcare Plan, such as:
- What is Trump’s Great Healthcare Plan?
- What are the key pieces of Trump’s Great Healthcare Plan?
- What does the plan not do?
- Do affordable medication options still matter?
What The Great Healthcare Plan Is
As the enhanced Affordable Care Act premium tax credits come to an end, millions of Americans have found themselves struggling with surging insurance premiums and changing coverage.
As a result, the Trump administration recently released a proposal framework to help ease the financial burden patients are facing.
On January 15th, 2026, President Donald Trump announced his Great Healthcare plan, asking Congress to draft legislation to make it a reality. The plan outlines methods to lower prescription drug costs, reduce insurance premiums, increase price transparency, and reform how health subsidies are distributed.
However, most of the plan’s framework requires new legislation to implement. While the proposal may signal possible reforms to the system, major changes to the plan’s original structure and objectives may still occur if Congress begins deliberating and modifying it. As a result, the plan’s objectives are likely to change in the coming weeks and months.
Even though the initial rollout merely laid out the basics of the program, some key points remain available to help Americans understand what it might entail.
Key Pieces of the Plan (What Has Been Announced So Far)
One of the biggest facets of the program is the intention to put money directly in consumers’ hands for buying care, rather than routing subsidies to benefit organizations.
Today, ACA premium tax credits are typically applied in advance to lower monthly premiums. This means money flows through the organization’s hands rather than into the consumer’s hands.
With the end of enhanced subsidies and the possible implementation of Trump’s Great Healthcare Plan, money may be redirected into patients’ hands, allowing them to shop for better insurance plan pricing.
However, that’s not all the plan intends to accomplish.
Prescription Drug Prices
The plan aims to codify Most-Favored-Nation (MFN) drug pricing deals and align U.S. drug prices with lower prices paid in similar nations.
Currently, the U.S. pays some of the highest drug prices in the world, while other nations pay much lower prices for the same medications.
Typically, other nations’ governments negotiate lower prices with the pharmaceutical manufacturers, while the American government does not do so for the private market. These governments will often set price ceilings, compare prices with similar nations, adopt different structures that don’t require Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs), limit rebate and kickback programs, and be willing to say no to certain treatments if they’re too expensive.
Not only would the plan require pharmaceutical manufacturers to charge similar prices in the U.S. to those in other nations, but the Great Healthcare Plan would also expand access to verified, safe drugs as over-the-counter options, potentially increasing competition and lowering costs.
Insurance Premiums and Subsidies
Before Congress allowed the enhanced subsidies to expire, funds used to subsidize healthcare plans did not end up in the pockets of the patients. Now, if the Great Healthcare Plan is instituted, ACA marketplace subsidies will be converted into direct payments to patients.
President Trump has claimed these would likely be deposited in a Health Savings Account or a similar mechanism, though the details are unclear and may require changes to current rules.
The program would also fund a cost-sharing reduction program that could reduce “standard” plan premiums by more than 10%, according to some estimates.
Pharmacy Benefit Managers and Transparency
Currently, companies called Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) act as middlemen between pharmacies, insurers, manufacturers, and patients. These companies negotiate prices, build formularies (lists of covered medications), process claims, and more.
Sadly, this system can result in complex deals among multiple organizations that may or may not benefit the end user.
One of the alleged issues Trump’s Great Healthcare Plan seeks to address is a system of “kickbacks” involving PBMs, though it doesn’t clearly define which payments it refers to or how the new regulations would be enforced.
Getting a medication on a formulary is extremely important, as it determines whether the drug will be covered by insurance plans. The belief is that the manufacturers will pay large rebates and fees just to ensure their drugs are listed on the formularies.
How these “kickbacks” may be targeted by Trump’s Great Healthcare Plan remains to be seen, though supporters believe new regulations may help limit the effects of a kickback system.
And while the plan aims to rein in PBM relationships with other industry players, it will also call for price transparency from insurers and providers, requiring plain-English disclosure of pricing, profits, and denial rates.
The proposal aims to shed light on where money flows, holding insurers and providers more accountable for the profits they generate from insurance plan premiums.
What the Plan Doesn’t Do and Important Limitations
Unfortunately, the plan is still broad and light on the specifics. It lacks specific legislative language or modeling, leaving the actual impact to how Congress shapes the legislation.
The plan also doesn’t promise any immediate or guaranteed price drops for every drug.
It does not lay out a detailed strategy to replace the ACA; instead, it sketches affordability measures and changes to subsidy flows that would require legislation.
Even though the plan is touted as a powerful overhaul to the current healthcare insurance landscape, experts note it does not overhaul Medicare/Medicaid or change employer-sponsored coverage structures. As a result, millions of patients may not receive the benefits the program claims to offer.
Why Affordable Medication Options Still Matter (Prescription Hope Angle)
Despite the proposed federal healthcare reforms, some factors still make it necessary to seek affordable medication. Unfortunately, too many Americans may not benefit as much from the proposed changes as they want. Some of those factors include:
- Policy changes take time: Congress must not only write the laws, but also pass them. Often, dramatic changes are introduced into laws, reshaping them from their original purpose. All of it takes time.
- Certain medications (especially generics, specialty meds, and older drugs) may not automatically drop in price even if frameworks change, because those changes do not include those other medications.
- Direct access points like Prescription Hope provide immediate savings solutions, especially for uninsured, underinsured, or high-deductible plan patients.
Thankfully, organizations like Prescription Hope help people access affordable medications quickly, while government policy and legislative debates will continue in the coming weeks and months.
Options such as discount cards, coupons, assistance programs, and Patient Assistance Programs allow patients to get their medication at affordable prices, even as insurance rates climb.
With Prescription Hope, approved patients get access to affordable medications for a simple service rate of $70.00 per month, per medication.
Conclusion on Trump’s Great Healthcare Plan
Trump’s Great Healthcare Plan may still be months or even years in the making, but options for today do exist.
If you’re struggling to afford your medication and are affected by the dramatic shifts in healthcare coverage, then we invite you to enroll risk-free with Prescription Hope. Those who qualify get access to their brand-name medication for $70.00 per month, per medication, for as long as they’re a patient with us.
Take a few minutes to fill out your enrollment form today, and find out if you qualify for Prescription Hope.
