Former President Donald Trump has taken significant steps to undo several key health policies introduced by the Biden administration. On Monday, Trump signed an executive order aimed at reversing several Biden-era health initiatives, focusing on lowering prescription drug costs and expanding Obamacare protections. According to the Trump White House, these measures are in response to policies it deems “unpopular” and “radical.”
Among the Biden policies overturned by Trump was an effort to reduce prescription drug costs for Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries. One of these efforts involved exploring a $2 cap on out-of-pocket expenses for certain generic drugs. However, experts say the proposal was still in its early stages and was unlikely to impact Americans in the immediate future.
Notably, Trump’s actions did not touch on some of the larger health measures under Biden’s agenda. For example, Biden’s initiatives such as a $35 monthly cap on insulin, a $2,000 annual out-of-pocket cap for prescription drugs, and Medicare’s ability to negotiate drug prices were not affected by Trump’s executive orders.
Experts suggest that Trump’s move could largely be symbolic, as the measures he has reversed were either not fully developed or had minimal immediate impact. “When administrations change, there is often a desire to undo the actions of previous administrations, even if those actions are largely symbolic,” said Stacie Dusetzina, a health policy expert at Vanderbilt University.
One of the more predictable aspects of Trump’s health care policy reversal was his decision to weaken the Affordable Care Act (ACA), commonly known as Obamacare. Trump rescinded Biden’s policy extending Obamacare’s open enrollment period by 12 weeks in 36 states, thus limiting access to insurance for uninsured adults.
Additionally, Trump repealed an initiative aimed at strengthening Medicaid, which included increasing funding for outreach programs to help more people enroll in the program. This move signals that Trump’s administration is pivoting from Obama-era health reforms, favoring less government intervention in health care.
However, some of the policies reversed by Trump had previously aligned with his administration’s goals, raising questions about the direction of his health care approach. Larry Levitt, a health policy expert at KFF, pointed out that Trump’s decision to eliminate Biden’s order on lowering prescription drug costs could signal that his administration is not prioritizing health care affordability as much as before.
“Trump is essentially wiping the slate clean,” Levitt said. “This signals a new approach to health care from the Trump administration.”
A key issue for the future of health care policy is Medicare’s ability to negotiate drug prices, a provision included in Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act. While it remains unclear whether Trump supports or opposes Medicare’s drug pricing negotiations, the next steps could significantly impact U.S. health care costs.
“We don’t know yet whether Trump plans to continue with drug price negotiations or try to reverse them,” Levitt explained. “The administration has flexibility on how aggressively to negotiate.”
Despite his preference for a smaller government, Trump has acknowledged that the U.S. spends far more on health care than other nations. Experts like Arthur Caplan, head of medical ethics at NYU Grossman School of Medicine, are hopeful that Trump will leave some of Biden’s larger initiatives, like Medicare drug negotiations, in place.
“At the moment, Trump is focusing on smaller changes,” Caplan said. “But I hope he won’t go too far.”
As Trump’s second term health care policy unfolds, the nation watches closely to see how his decisions will shape the future of drug pricing and health insurance.
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