Trump Announces 'Great Health Plan' Aiming to Eliminate Insurance Intermediaries to Lower Healthcare Costs

Summary

Former US President Trump has announced a “Great Healthcare Plan” proposal aimed at reducing health insurance costs for the public. The plan seeks to lower drug prices and insurance premiums by eliminating insurance brokers and corporate intermediaries, increasing price transparency, and providing funds directly to individuals to purchase their own insurance.

Impact Analysis

This is a direct shot at the heart of the managed care business model. They want you to focus on the populist ‘lower costs’ headline, but the real story is the proposed dismantling of the intermediary system—the brokers and corporate benefit managers that are the lifeblood of distribution for companies like UnitedHealth. Giving money directly to consumers to buy insurance is a radical shift that would vaporize the entrenched moats of the big insurers.

While the legislative path for this is a nightmare and likely impossible, it’s a massive headline risk that the market has to price in. It signals that the entire managed care sector is a political punching bag, and the pressure on their margins isn’t going away. The plan itself is thin, but the intent is clear: disrupt the incumbents. This creates a significant valuation overhang for the entire group. I’d be looking at shorting the managed care sector, particularly names most exposed to the commercial group market, on any news that this proposal is gaining political momentum.