Political Theater and the Great Healthcare Plan
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
4-14-2026
ISSN
0098-7484
Publisher
JAMA Network
Language
en-US
Abstract
In January 2026, the White House outlined what it calls the Great Healthcare Plan, a policy framework intended to make US health care more affordable (Table). Rather than a detailed legislative proposal, the plan is presented primarily through fact sheets and public statements.
The plan bundles 9 different proposals, including drug pricing changes, expanded over-the-counter (OTC) drug availability, modifications to subsidies in the individual market, reforms to pharmaceutical benefit managers (PBMs), and a bundle of ideas around transparency. At a moment when public concern about affordability is acute, the proposal may have political appeal. Yet a closer examination suggests that the plan’s reach is narrow, its savings modest, and its claims far broader than its likely effects.
Recommended Citation
Christopher Robertson & Wendy Netter Epstein,
Political Theater and the Great Healthcare Plan
,
335
JAMA
1207
(2026).
Available at:
https://scholarship.law.bu.edu/faculty_scholarship/4225
