Pittsburgh Review

Pennsylvanians have long-awaited comprehensive, common-sense approach to affordable healthcare. It’s not only what we need, it’s what we deserve.

That’s why I was encouraged to hear about President Trump’s “America First Healthcare Plan.” 

The plan, which the President introduced in Charlotte, North Carolina, consists of three core pillars: more choice, lower costs, and better care. In stark contrast to the Democrats’ single-minded focus on using the federal government to solve every perceived problem in our healthcare system, the Trump administration has demonstrated that it’s possible to lower the price of health insurance and prescription medication for patients across the country without sacrificing innovation, raising taxes, or limiting Americans’ healthcare options.  

“My plan expands affordable insurance options, reduces the cost of prescription drugs, will end surprise medical billing, increases fairness through price transparency, streamlines bureaucracy, accelerates innovation, strongly protects Medicare, and always protects patients with pre-existing conditions,” the President explained while announcing the proposal. 

The final promise is among the most important — but it’s also subject to a great deal of confusion, largely due to the conflicting rhetoric coming from each side of the political aisle. The President’s critics have claimed that an administration-backed federal lawsuit seeking to overturn Obamacare contradicts his oft-stated promise to make sure that Americans with pre-existing conditions have access to affordable healthcare, which has understandably generated concern on the part of American families who would not be able to afford health insurance if insurers were to dramatically raise premiums based on pre-existing conditions. In Pennsylvania alone, more than 2 million non-elderly adults would likely face sharply increased coverage costs in the absence of legal protections.

Millions of Pennsylvanians can now sleep a little easier, because President Trump ended the policy address by signing the first executive order in U.S. history to make protections for Americans with preexisting conditions the official policy of the United States government. He also signed an order to end surprise medical billing, providing further peace of mind to American families who have long dreaded the prospect of paying for an unexpected healthcare expense.

Moreover, the Trump administration has approved the import of prescription drugs from our key trading partners as a means of lowering pharmaceutical prices, and proposed a policy to offer affordable insulin and Epi-Pens at around 10,000 Federal clinics nationwide. 

Before Donald Trump took office, Pennsylvania suffered under one of the worst policy experiments in U.S. history. Even though the Obama administration had promised to make healthcare more affordable for everyone, Americans all over the country saw their premiums skyrocket as a direct result of the draconian Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

After years of steadily increasing healthcare costs, the Trump administration managed to reduce Obamacare premiums nationwide last year through a combination of streamlined rules and efficient management, with Pennsylvania experiencing a particularly massive 16 percent drop in prices.

Regrettably, the Democrat Party has not learned from the catastrophic failures of its signature healthcare policy. Democrat presidential nominee Joe Biden, in fact, has made expanding Obamacare the centerpiece of his healthcare agenda. 

Even that isn’t enough to satisfy today’s radicalized Democratic Party, though. Many Democrat activists and elected officials are calling for nothing less than an all-out government takeover of the healthcare industry. Biden’s own running mate, Senator Kamala Harris, has even co-sponsored “Medicare for All” legislation alongside self-described “Democratic Socialist” Senator Bernie Sanders, and released a similar healthcare proposal while running for president last year.  

“[T]he Democrat Party is pushing a socialist nightmare,” President Trump observed during his speech, explaining that their policies “will result in rationing care, denying choice, putting Americans on waitlists, driving the best doctors out of medicine permanently, and delaying life-saving cures.” 

The America First Healthcare Plan is the antithesis of the Democrats’ big-government schemes. It’s the only way to achieve lower prices and higher-quality care for all Americans without bankrupting our country and dismantling the most effective and innovative healthcare system the world has ever seen.

– Rose Tennent is on the Advisory Board for the Women for Trump Coalition and has been a prominent figure for twenty years as a syndicated conservative political talk show host. Her show “Rose Unplugged” can be heard on KDKA AM NewsTalk and at www.roseunplugged.com