Trump unveils ‘Great Healthcare Plan’ to lower drug costs and insurance premiums, calls on Congress to enact—Watch video

President Donald Trump on Thursday unveiled the framework of “Great Healthcare plan” he wants Congress to consider, as Republicans face mounting pressure to tackle rising medical expenses and insurance premiums following the expiration of subsidies.

The White House stated that Trump’s plan would formalise his approach to lowering drug prices by linking them to the lowest prices paid in other countries.

At the core of the plan is a proposal to provide Americans with direct payments for health savings accounts, allowing them to manage insurance independently of the federal government.

In a taped video the White House shared to announce the plan, Trump stated, “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.”

"I’m calling on Congress to pass this framework into law without delay — have to do it right now so that we can get immediate relief to the American people,” Trump stated in a video message.

Democrats have slammed the plan, calling it an inadequate solution for addressing the high costs of health care. It was not immediately clear whether any members of Congress were taking steps to introduce the Republican president’s plan.

The concept echoes an idea discussed among Republican senators last year. Democrats argued that the accounts would not sufficiently cover costs for most consumers.

Enhanced tax credits, which helped lower insurance costs for the majority of Affordable Care Act enrollees, expired at the end of 2025, despite Democrats having forced a 43-day government shutdown over the matter.

Sen. Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, has been leading a bipartisan group of 12 senators working on a compromise to extend those subsidies for two years while introducing new limits on eligibility. That proposal would also create, in the second year, the option of a health savings account favoured by Trump and other Republicans.

Trump stated his plan aims to lower premiums by fully funding cost-sharing reductions, or CSRs, a type of financial assistance that insurers provide to low-income “Obamacare” enrollees on silver-level, or mid-tier, plans.

From 2014 to 2017, the federal government reimbursed insurance companies for CSRs. The first Trump administration in 2017 ceased those payments. To compensate for the lost funds, insurers raised premiums on silver-level plans, which in turn increased the financial aid many enrollees received to help cover premiums.

Health analysts remarked that while restoring CSR funding would likely reduce silver-level premiums, as Trump claims, it could also unintentionally lead to higher net premiums for many people on bronze and gold plans.