President Donald Trump said Friday that he plans to summon the nation’s largest health insurance companies for a meeting in the coming days, signaling a direct challenge to an industry he says has grown wealthy while American families brace for sharply higher health care costs. The move comes as enhanced ObamaCare subsidies are set to expire at the end of the year, a change expected to drive up premiums for tens of millions of consumers.
Speaking during an Oval Office event focused on drug pricing, Trump said insurance companies must lower their prices or face pressure from his administration. “I’m going to call in the insurance companies that are making so much money, and they have to make less, a lot less,” Trump said. “I’m going to see if they get their price down, to put it very bluntly. And I think that is a very big statement.”
Trump said the meeting could be held either in Florida, where he plans to spend the next two weeks, or at the White House during the first week of 2026. He added that the idea came to him on the spot, underscoring what aides describe as his hands-on approach to tackling rising costs that affect everyday Americans.
Markets reacted swiftly to the president’s remarks. Shares of major insurers, including UnitedHealth Group, Cigna Group, and Humana, fell after Trump signaled that the industry could soon face intense scrutiny over pricing.
At the same event, Trump contrasted insurers with pharmaceutical executives, whom he praised for working with his administration to lower costs for Medicare recipients. Fourteen drug companies have publicly reached agreements with the White House after facing tariff threats, securing relief in exchange for commitments to reduce prices.
“I have a feeling maybe if they would act like these incredible, brilliant, responsible citizens … people that love our country and they love the world,” Trump said of the pharmaceutical CEOs, suggesting insurers should follow a similar path rather than resisting reform.
Insurance companies have spent much of the year pushing back against Congress and the administration, particularly over the impact of nearly $1 trillion in Medicaid cuts included in the GOP’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act. At the same time, insurers have aggressively lobbied to extend the enhanced ObamaCare subsidies that are scheduled to expire on December 31.
Republicans ultimately blocked Democratic efforts to extend those subsidies, and Congress left Washington for the remainder of the year without reaching an agreement. Once the tax credits expire, out-of-pocket premium costs for tens of millions of Americans are expected, on average, to more than double in 2026.
House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana, navigating divisions between conservatives and moderates in his conference, sided this week with lawmakers opposed to extending the COVID-era subsidies. Those subsidies have lowered health insurance costs for roughly 22 million people, but critics argue they prop up insurers rather than address underlying price problems.
Democrats have seized on the looming premium increases, making them a central issue during a six-week government shutdown earlier this fall and repeatedly attempting to put Republicans on the defensive.
Trump, however, has argued that the current system funnels taxpayer dollars to insurance companies instead of directly helping consumers. He has urged Republicans to consider a different approach, sending money straight to Americans rather than routing it through insurers in the form of tax credits.
“My initial thought, and this is what I want to do as of right now,” Trump said Friday, “is that all of the billions and billions, ultimately trillions and trillions of dollars that’s paid to these companies, we’re going to pay directly to the people.”
He added that another option remains on the table: forcing insurers to dramatically cut prices while staying in the system. Either way, Trump made clear that the days of insurers avoiding accountability while premiums climb may be coming to an end.
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