President Donald Trump announced plans on Friday to convene meetings with health insurance companies aimed at significantly reducing healthcare costs for millions of Americans.
“I’ll bet you if I called a meeting of the insurance companies, the companies that are involved with healthcare costs, I would be willing to bet that they would reduce their prices very, very substantially,” Trump stated at the White House following his announcement of agreements with nine pharmaceutical firms to lower drug costs.
The president emphasized he intended for insurers to cut prices “way, way down” and remain part of the healthcare system rather than redirecting billions in payments directly to individuals. Trump specified that the meeting could take place in Florida next week or at the White House early in the new year. He described the initiative as a “very big statement,” noting that agreements with 14 pharmaceutical companies—nine of which he named—represented unprecedented reductions in drug prices.
Three major drugmakers—AbbVie, Johnson & Johnson, and Regeneron—who had initially been targeted by the administration but have yet to announce price cuts, are expected to follow suit soon. Insurers have also opposed recent congressional actions related to Medicaid cuts included in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and sought extensions of Affordable Care Act subsidies that expire at year’s end.
Trump has urged Republicans to redirect funds directly to Americans instead of providing tax credits to insurers, accusing Democrats of being aligned with the health insurance industry.
