President Donald Trump said Friday that he intends to meet with health insurance executives in an effort to drive down healthcare costs for millions of Americans, signaling that insurance companies could be the next major target of his administration’s cost-cutting strategy.
Speaking at the White House following the announcement of new agreements with major pharmaceutical companies to reduce drug prices, Trump said he believes insurers would sharply lower their prices if directly challenged. He argued that the current system allows insurance companies to earn excessive profits while patients continue to face rising medical costs.
“If I called a meeting of the insurance companies involved in healthcare, I think they would reduce their prices very substantially,” Trump said, adding that such a move could help restore fairness to the healthcare system.
Trump outlined two possible paths forward. One option would involve redirecting the vast sums currently paid to insurance companies and sending that money directly to Americans. The alternative approach, which he said he is currently considering, would keep insurers within the healthcare system but require them to significantly reduce pricing in order to remain part of it.
“We could have fair healthcare in this country,” Trump said, emphasizing that insurers “have to make less, a lot less,” if costs are to come down without disrupting coverage nationwide.
According to Trump, the proposed meeting with insurance executives could take place as early as next week in Florida or during the first week of the new year at the White House. He described the planned discussions as a major statement of intent and a potential turning point in healthcare policy.
The president’s comments followed announcements that nine additional pharmaceutical companies had reached agreements with his administration to lower drug prices after facing the possibility of tariffs. Those companies include Amgen, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bristol Myers Squibb, Genentech, Gilead Sciences, GSK, Merck, Novartis, and Sanofi. In total, 14 drugmakers have now reached pricing deals with the administration, while several others are expected to follow with their own announcements in the coming weeks.
Trump called the agreements historic, saying the scale of the price reductions was something few believed could be achieved. He suggested that the success of the drug pricing negotiations strengthened his case for confronting insurance companies next.
At the same time, the insurance industry has been pushing back against lawmakers and the administration over proposed Medicaid reductions included in recent legislation. Insurers have also lobbied heavily to extend enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies that are scheduled to expire at the end of the year.
Democrats have warned that allowing those subsidies to lapse could result in higher premiums for consumers, making the issue a central point in recent political standoffs, including a government shutdown earlier this fall. Trump, however, has criticized the subsidy system, arguing that it benefits insurance companies more than patients.
The president has urged Republicans to pursue policies that send money directly to Americans rather than providing tax credits to insurers, accusing Democrats of being too closely aligned with the health insurance industry.
As Trump continues to position himself as a force for aggressive healthcare reform, his planned meeting with insurance executives could mark the next major phase in his administration’s efforts to reduce costs across the healthcare system.
