TPA Criticizes White House Healthcare Plan

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Kara Zupkus (224) 456-0257

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the Taxpayers Protection Alliance criticized President Trump’s “Great Healthcare Plan,” announced on the last day of the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA’s) open enrollment period. In a video released with the proposal, President Trump reiterated his support for Most-Favored-Nation (MFN) price controls on pharmaceuticals and converting now-expired “extra taxpayer-funded subsidy payments” into direct payments to households. He also called on pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) to be held accountable for inflating healthcare costs. Additionally, the White House released a fact sheet explaining the proposal.

Ross Marchand, Executive Director of the Taxpayers Protection Alliance, rejected the President’s plan:

“Price controls on lifesaving medicines will harm millions of patients while doing nothing to lower the cost of healthcare. Bringing a medication to market can cost billions of dollars and take roughly a decade of clinical trials and back-and-forth with the Food and Drug Administration. Imposing below-market prices on medications will make it far more difficult for innovators to get lifesaving drugs on the shelves. As America struggles with healthcare affordability and availability crises, price controls are not what the doctor ordered.

“President Trump’s plan would also bring back expensive expired subsidies that cost taxpayers more than $30 billion per year. While we agree with the President that any taxpayer funding of healthcare should go to patients before insurers, bringing back these subsidies—which were supposed to be temporary—in any form would drive up premiums and add to the $38 trillion national debt. Taxpayer costs can be lowered by reforming the 340B Drug Pricing Program and reining in PBMs. However, PBM reforms should focus  on interactions between PBMs and Medicare and Medicaid. President Trump must walk a fine line and ensure that any PBM reforms focus on taxpayer-funded government programs.

“Government involvement in healthcare has kept costs far too high and invited out-of-control cronyism. The Taxpayers Protection Alliance will continue to propose commonsense reforms to increase patient choice and lower costs for all.” 

The Taxpayers Protection Alliance (TPA) is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to educating the public through the research, analysis, and dissemination of information on the government’s impact on the economy.