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By Aliss Higham
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President Donald Trump is poised to introduce a new proposal aimed at curbing escalating health care costs as soon as Monday, CNN and MSNOW reported, as his administration works to prevent substantial premium hikes triggered by the looming expiration of major Affordable Care Act (ACA) subsidies.
Newsweek has contacted the White House for comment via email.
Why It Matters
According to the Congressional Budget Office, letting the subsidies lapse would cause next year’s premiums to more than double for many enrollees and leave an estimated 2 million additional people uninsured.
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The forthcoming proposal is intended to make good on Trump’s pledge to offer an alternative to the enhanced ACA subsidies that nearly 22 million Americans rely on. It also follows weeks of stalemate in Washington, where Democrats refused to approve reopening the government without extending those payments. The subsidies in question were first enacted in 2021 as part of President Biden’s COVID-19 relief package.
In negotiations over government funding, Senate Republicans agreed to schedule a vote in mid-December on prolonging the enhanced subsidies, which are set to sunset at the end of the year. In return, Democrats accepted a short-term funding measure through January, ending the longest government shutdown in American history.
What To Know
MSNOW has reported the announcement is set to take place at the White House and will include comments from both Trump and Dr. Mehmet Oz, who heads up the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, citing officials familiar with the matter.
According to two unnamed White House officials, Trump’s proposed legislation, known as the “Healthcare Price Cuts Act,” is designed to end what one official described as “surprise premium hikes” tied to the ACA. The proposal would also abolish the ACA’s “zero-premium” subsidies, an effort to curb “ghost beneficiaries,” a longstanding Republican complaint about suspected fraudulent enrollees, by requiring a small minimum payment to verify eligibility.
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The plan also reportedly includes a deposit-based incentive program to encourage consumers to choose lower-premium plans on the ACA marketplace. Under this approach, anyone who opts for reduced coverage would have the savings deposited into a taxpayer-funded “Health Savings Account.”
Trump himself has endorsed this idea. Writing on Truth Social on November 18, the president said: "THE ONLY HEALTHCARE I WILL SUPPORT OR APPROVE IS SENDING THE MONEY DIRECTLY BACK TO THE PEOPLE, WITH NOTHING GOING TO THE BIG, FAT, RICH INSURANCE COMPANIES, WHO HAVE MADE $TRILLIONS, AND RIPPED OFF AMERICA LONG ENOUGH."
What People Are Saying
President Trump on Truth Social: ""THE PEOPLE WILL BE ALLOWED TO NEGOTIATE AND BUY THEIR OWN, MUCH BETTER, INSURANCE. POWER TO THE PEOPLE! Congress, do not waste your time and energy on anything else. This is the only way to have great Healthcare in America!!! GET IT DONE, NOW."
A White House official told CNN: "Until President Trump makes an announcement himself, any reporting about the Administration’s healthcare positions is mere speculation.”
What Happens Next
The announcement is expected as early as Monday, November 24.
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