President Donald Trump said Jan. 6 that he plans to meet with 14 insurance companies “in a few days” to pressure them to lower prices for Americans.
“We’re trying to solve the healthcare problem. We’re trying to get better healthcare at a lower price,” Mr. Trump said during an almost 90-minute speech to House Republicans, published by PBS News.
The president renewed his push for lawmakers to redirect federal healthcare dollars away from insurers and toward consumers directly, an idea he first floated last fall.
“Let the money go not to the big fat cats and the insurance companies that made 1,700% over the last short period of time. Let the money go directly to the people where they can buy their own healthcare,” Mr. Trump said.
His remarks come after the longest shutdown in U.S. history last year, triggered by a standoff over whether to extend enhanced ACA subsidies that expired at the end of 2025. A Democratic proposal to extend the subsidies for three years and a Republican alternative centered on health savings accounts both failed to advance in the Senate.
The enhanced subsidies expanded marketplace eligibility to households earning more than 400% of the federal poverty level and capped benchmark plan premiums at 8.5% of income. Marketplace enrollment more than doubled during the subsidy period, rising from 11.4 million in 2020 to 24.3 million in 2025.
Approximately 4 million people will lose coverage without an extension, according to the Congressional Budget Office.
The House is expected to vote this week on a three-year subsidy extension, though it is unlikely to pass in the Senate, according to NBC News.
