Former President Trump is leaning on his first administration in his pitch for lowering spending.
Harris has vowed to expand and cement some of the Biden administration’s health care policies.
“I’ll lower the cost of insulin and prescription drugs for everyone, with your support, not only our seniors, and demand transparency from the middlemen who operate between Big Pharma and the insurance companies who use opaque practices to raise your drug prices and profit off your need for medicine,” Harris said during a speech in August.
Harris has proposed:
- Expanding drug spending caps to include everyone
- Permanently extending ObamaCare tax subsidies
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Forgiving medical debt
Trump, meanwhile, is touting policies from his previous administration. His running mate Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) pointed to the Trump administration’s rule requiring hospitals to publish their prices as evidence of Trump’s work to lower costs.
During his first term, Trump signed a “most favored nation” executive order calling for Medicare to pay no more than other developed countries for physician-administered drugs. But that rule was rescinded under the Biden administration following a court order to halt it
When he launched his 2024 presidential bid, Trump hinted at reviving this rule, something analysts say could make some meaningful impact on lowering medical costs, but his campaign has told outlets there is "no push to renew" it.
When asked to clarify his plans, Republican National Committee spokesperson Anna Kelly did not give a direct answer.
“President Trump will fight to get Americans the best drug prices in the world that are produced at the highest standard by manufacturing them here in the USA,” she said.
