How Trump Is Raising All Of Our Healthcare Costs— The GOP Health Care Disaster Is Already Happening

GOP Wants Us To Appreciate The Pain They're Foisting On Us All

I’ve never been a Biden fan— and I didn’t vote for him in 2020— but I admit he did some good stuff while he was in the White House, among them, working to bring down the price of healthcare, medicines included. Trump, of course, is worse than Biden in every conceivable way, policy-wise and character-wise and just plan wise— health care costs front and center. Under Biden meaningful steps were taken to lower out-of-pocket costs for working families. Through the Inflation Reduction Act, his administration capped insulin prices for Medicare beneficiaries at $35 a month, limited annual out-of-pocket drug costs for seniors to $2,000 starting in 2025, and finally gave Medicare the power to negotiate prices for a number of commonly used, high-cost drugs. These are modest reforms, but they mattered— especially to people living on fixed incomes or struggling with chronic conditions.

Biden also expanded subsidies under the Affordable Care Act, making premiums more affordable for millions of families. As a result, the uninsured rate in the U.S. hit a record low in 2023. Was it enough? Not even close. But it was movement in the right direction, toward accessibility, not austerity.

Now Trump and the Republicans have reversed course. Biden may not have been Bernie but all of that progress is being blown to pieces by Trump’s Big Ugly bill, a bonanza for the insurance and pharmaceutical industries— and a direct assault on the rest of us. It slashes nearly a trillion dollars from Medicaid over the next decade, booting millions of people off coverage through bureaucratic traps like work-reporting requirements and red tape-based “eligibility checks.” According to the Congressional Budget Office, over five million adults will be dropped from Medicaid as a result. Add in the end of ACA subsidy enhancements and the rollback of Medicare Savings Program expansions, and you’re looking at tens of millions of Americans facing higher premiums, higher drug prices, and more medical debt.

The Republican bill also guts the drug pricing provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act just as they were starting to take effect, ensuring that Big Pharma can go back to charging whatever it wants. And while Trump stuffed in a small fund for rural hospitals to give himself political cover, it’s nowhere near enough to make up for the massive losses from Medicaid cuts. Experts estimate over $1 trillion in lost provider revenue nationally, with many rural and safety-net hospitals likely to close. As more people lose insurance and delay care, hospitals will raise rates for the rest of us to stay afloat— meaning health care costs are about to surge across the board, no matter your income or insurance status.

Yesterday, Anna Matthews and Liz Whyte reported that Medicare Part D drug plan premiums are set to rise sharply, “due to rising costs, regulatory changes and cutbacks to a subsidy program. The subsidy program, which sent extra federal funds to the private insurers that offer the drug benefit—  known as Part D— had largely shielded seniors from rising monthly bills in 2025. It pumped an extra $6.2 billion of federal payments into the Part D plans this year, according to a Medicare official. The Trump administration is set to cut spending on that program by about 40% in 2026.”

The premium increase, which will vary widely depending on the plan, will hit a politically sensitive constituency of millions of seniors who purchase the plans, which cover drugs, alongside the traditional Medicare medical benefits. It may also push more Medicare enrollees into Medicare Advantage plans, the private-insurer version of Medicare, which wrap in drug coverage.

Medicare officials didn’t release expected average premium costs, but said the subsidies that remain would save Medicare enrollees with drug plans $13.50 a month on average off of the higher rates.

Insurers have been flagging higher patient drug spending as an issue across all of their lines of business, and their higher bids for the Part D plans likely reflect that rising expense. But insurers also are facing higher costs and more risk on the Medicare drug plans because of a Part D program redesign mandated by the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act. The redesign reduced some Medicare enrollees’ out-of-pocket costs for medications, among other changes that largely kicked in this year, but required insurers to shoulder more of the costs.

So how is the GOP reacting to all this as the country starts gearing up for the midterms? The NRCC is urging their members to go on the offensive. Republicans are offensive; it’s their brand. But Andrew Howard reported yesterday that they have been directed to aggressively sell the Big Ugly Bill to their constituents/victims rather than let Democrats brand it as a tax cut for the rich. The NRCC put it in a deceptive memo, revealing how the GOP hopes to lie their way out of what they’ve done. “In particular, the NRCC wants members to cast the bill’s Medicaid cuts— already a top target of Democrats— as an overhaul that will strengthen the program. The organization also highlights polls showing voters support work requirements and removing ineligible recipients from coverage.”

“With the One Big Beautiful Bill signed into law by President Trump just a few weeks ago, this is a critical opportunity to continue to define how this legislation will help every voter and push back on Democrat fearmongering,” the NRCC wrote in the memo.

The comprehensive memo from Republicans’ campaign arm shows just how crucial the messaging battle will be ahead of 2026, as both parties expect the megabill, recently signed into law, to become one of the top issues of the cycle.

Republicans want to avoid letting Democrats control the message around the bill, especially given that midterms historically favor the party that is out of power— and rule of the House could be decided by just a few seats. By equipping the conference with ample talking points, the NRCC is hoping members can stave off the onslaught of attacks from Democrats.

The memo relays a few areas the NRCC wants members to focus on, including getting ahead of the attacks that Democrats have already started waging about the bill.

“We can’t let them control the narrative,” the NRCC said of Democrats.

In warning GOP members not to fall for Democratic “trackers,” or political operatives who will try to get them to say damaging info, while they are back home, the NRCC advised, “They are not reporters or constituents; you do not owe them a response.”

In addition to Medicaid, the NRCC urged its members to highlight tax relief, immigration, business reforms and “holding elites accountable.”

On Monday, Vice President JD Vance offered an example for Republican legislators, calling out Ohio Democratic lawmakers by name during a rally in the state.

“You know why she’s not here today?” Vance said of Rep. Emilia Sykes. “Because she’s not celebrating no taxes on tips, she’s not celebrating no taxes overtime, she’s not celebrating the highest rising take home pay in 60 years, because she fought us every step of the way on the big beautiful bill.”

And the NRCC suggested its members hold roundtables and visit hospitals, restaurants and small businesses to highlight specific provisions of the bill. It advises holding in-person interviews with local media outlets.

The memo, however, did not address whether to hold town halls, something that became a hot-button issue the last time lawmakers went home for an extended period.

Democrats— armed with their own talking points— are already planning rallies in red districts across the country as they begin to realize their own messaging plans. They hope to paint the bill as a tax cut for the wealthy at the expense of Americans who use programs like Medicaid and SNAP.

“The Big, Ugly Law is a political disaster,” DCCC spokesperson Viet Shelton said in a statement. “The American people know it’s a giveaway to billionaires that’s paid for by ripping away health care from millions and jacking up folks’ energy costs. Everyone hates it and vulnerable House Republicans know it, which is why they’re scared to face their constituents in person during the August recess.”

… [T]here is a note of caution to members not to let the opposing party set the agenda.

“Seek to drown out Democrats’ efforts to knock you off message with a disciplined and compelling communications effort of your own,” the memo advised.