Reps. Scholten, Landsman, Tran Urge President Trump to Take Real Action to Lower Health Care Costs

WASHINGTON, DC - Today, U.S. Representatives Hillary Scholten (D-MI-03), Greg Landsman (D-OH-01) and Derek Tran (D-CA-45) wrote a letter to President Trump urging him to advance real legislation to lower health care costs and renew the expired Affordable Care Act (ACA)tax credits. The members of the Lowering Costs Caucus also highlighted the futility of the administration's TrumpRX program, which will not meaningfully reduce prescription drug or other health care costs.

"TrumpRx repackages drug companies' existing, voluntary direct-to-consumer discount programs and falsely presents them as a policy achievement. This is not reform, it is rebranding. This program is nothing more than a marketing exercise dressed up as governance. While this administration is focused on touting existing discounts as brand new solutions to a decades-long problem, the Lowering Costs Caucus will continue to support real, innovative answers to the struggles Americans face," the Representatives wrote in part.

"If your goal is to genuinely lower costs, there are real, bipartisan actions available right now. Extending the Affordable Care Act's enhanced premium tax credits would immediately reduce monthly health insurance premiums for millions of working families. Allowing those credits to expire at the end of 2025 raised costs. No coupon directory will offset that increase," the Representatives continued. "We stand ready to work with your administration to pass serious, cost-lowering legislation, in addition to an extension of the Affordable Care Act tax credits."

The full text of the letter can be found below:

Dear President Trump,

We urge you to take concrete action to lower health care costs for everyday Americans. In your recent State of the Union address, you touted TrumpRx as a program that is significantly lowering drug prices for Americans. However, this program will not lower costs in any meaningful way for our constituents. As members of the Lowering Costs Caucus, we welcome efforts to lower health care costs for families, but this website does not deliver on your promise to make life more affordable. We urge you to pass real legislation to lower health care costs and renew the expired Affordable Care Act tax credits, which would provide real relief for Americans struggling to make ends meet.

Americans need lower health care costs. Research from the Kaiser Family Foundation has shown that total national health expenditures have risen to almost $5 trillion as of 2023. Another study found that health care spending in 2024 reached over $15,000 per person. These costs are unsustainable for most Americans, and TrumpRx will do little to address that economic burden. TrumpRx repackages drug companies' existing, voluntary direct-to-consumer discount programs and falsely presents them as a policy achievement. This is not reform, it is rebranding. This program is nothing more than a marketing exercise dressed up as governance. While this administration is focused on touting existing discounts as brand new solutions to a decades-long problem, the Lowering Costs Caucus will continue to support real, innovative answers to the struggles Americans face.

Unfortunately, the debut of TrumpRx fits a broader and increasingly familiar pattern. For years, Republicans have claimed to have a "concept of a plan" to address health care access and affordability. Yet, even in a Republican trifecta, you have gutted health care for millions of Americans through H.R. 1, the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Instead of renewing proven health care tax credits or presenting a legitimate solution to the health care crisis, your administration has cycled through messaging exercises and stale talking points while costs continue to rise.

If your goal is to genuinely lower costs, there are real, bipartisan actions available right now. Extending the Affordable Care Act's enhanced premium tax credits would immediately reduce monthly health insurance premiums for millions of working families. Allowing those credits to expire at the end of 2025 raised costs. No coupon directory will offset that increase.

There are other serious options as well. The Lowering Costs Caucus has endorsed several bills that will lower prescription costs for families, including H.R. 2636, the Making Insulin Affordable for All Children Act, and H.R. 5158, the Fair Price Device Act.

These bills would lower prescription costs for families using real policy solutions - without recycling discounts that already exist. If you are serious about lowering health care costs, we urge you to work with Congress on policies like these that are durable and tangible. It is past time to move beyond concepts and rebranding. We stand ready to work with your administration to pass serious, cost-lowering legislation, in addition to an extension of the Affordable Care Act tax credits.

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