Trump's State of the Union Touts Healthcare 'Greatest Hits' With No New Policies

In his lengthy State of the Union address, President Trump touted healthcare achievements like drug pricing deals but offered no new policies, instead urging Congress to codify his existing "Great Healthcare Plan."

President Donald Trump delivered a sprawling, record-length State of the Union address Tuesday night that touched on familiar healthcare themes while offering no new policy initiatives. Instead, the president used his platform to tout existing achievements and urge Congress to codify his previously announced "Great Healthcare Plan."

Trump spent approximately five minutes on healthcare during his 107-minute speech, focusing primarily on his administration's efforts to lower prescription drug prices. He highlighted his "most-favored-nation" agreements with pharmaceutical companies, which he said have moved American drug prices from the highest in the world to the lowest. In February, the administration launched TrumpRx.gov, a website offering discounted prescription drugs through direct-to-consumer sales agreements with manufacturers including Pfizer, Eli Lilly, and Amgen.

The president called on Congress to pass legislation codifying these drugs pricing deals and implementing other elements of his "Great Healthcare Plan," a framework released in January that includes expanding health savings accounts, increasing price transparency, and requiring insurers to publish detailed cost and coverage information. Notably absent was any request to extend enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies that expired at the end of 2025, which Trump has previously indicated he might veto.

Trump also reiterated his pledge to "always protect Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid."  However, critics point to his signature domestic policy law signed last year, which the Congressional Budget Office projects will cut over $1 trillion from Medicaid over the next decade through stricter eligibility requirements and work requirements for childless adults. The nonpartisan CBO also found that tax changes in the bill will accelerate Medicare's trust fund exhaustion.

Democrats swiftly condemned the address. DNC Rapid Response Director Kendall Witmer noted that while most Americans cite healthcare costs as their top concern, Trump "offered nothing to make health care more affordable" after policies that have left premiums for some ACA plans up 114% .