What Happened.
On January 15, 2026, President Trump unveiled his Great Healthcare Plan, a broad healthcare reform framework intended to lower costs for Americans by shifting how money flows in the system, increasing transparency, and reducing the influence of insurers and pharmaceutical companies. It is a policy outline rather than a detailed legislative text, and Trump is urging Congress to enact it into law.
What it Means.
The White House released a video message and one-page fact sheet announcing four broad goals for the Plan:
- “Lower Drug Prices”: The proposal builds on prior drug pricing policies (like Most-Favored-Nation deals) to cut costs, including allowing more drugs to be purchased over-the-counter and through a new platform (e.g., Trump Rx), which Trump says could reduce prices by significant percentages.
- “Lower Insurance Premiums”: It aims to cut insurance costs by ending, in the words of the White House, “kickbacks paid by pharmacy benefit managers” (PBMs) and payments to insurance companies and proposes sending that money “directly to eligible Americans to allow them to buy the health insurance of their choice.” It is unclear whether this represents a move toward plans in Congress to expand or fund Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) or who shall be deemed “eligible.” The Plan also embraces the funding of a “cost-sharing reduction program” to reduce Obamacare plan premiums “by over 10%, according to the Congressional Budget Office.”
- “Hold Big Insurance Companies Accountable”: Insurers and providers would be required to publish prices, profits, denial rates, and coveragecomparisons on their websites in clear, plain English to help patients shop more effectively. Insurers will also be required to publish the percentage of insurance claims they reject and average wait times for routine care.
- “Maximize Price Transparency”: The Plan would require providers and insurers who accept Medicare or Medicaid to prominently post their pricing and fees in their businesses.
The Great Healthcare Plan announcement follows an announcement on December 29, 2025, of the first round of grants by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) under the Rural Health Transformation Program. Enacted as part of the 2025 Working Families Tax Cuts Act, CMS recently made funding awards to all 50 states totaling approximately $10 billion, designed “for a range of uses designed to make rural healthcare more effective and sustainable for the long term.” This is part of a total funding amount of $50 billion to be awarded on an annual basis under state-approved plans through 2030, with monitoring and reporting requirements guiding future funding decisions.
Members of Butler Snow’s Health Law practice group will continue to follow the Great Healthcare Plan as it is reduced to specifics and debated in Congress.
