In a recent Townhall op-ed, former U.S. Representative Ryan Costello exposes how Congress is barreling toward a policy disaster that would directly undermine President Trump’s agenda by hiking health care costs, expanding government control in the private market, and handing Big Pharma a massive windfall—all under the guise of “drug pricing reform”:

“As President Trump enters his second month in office, he does so with clear momentum delivering on a mandate from the American people. The American people overwhelmingly voted to return him to the White House, and with that, they endorsed his promises to prioritize government efficiency and reduce taxpayer spending. This sounds very promising, but while President Trump’s goals are ambitious and necessary, it must be recognized that Congress will play a pivotal role in enacting those policies, and they need to do so swiftly.”

Costello warns:

“Instead of reducing costs, these policies – likely considered in a Continuing Resolution or reconciliation package – would create unnecessary regulations that expand the role of the federal government into the private sector while doing little to address the root causes of high drug prices – a result of big pharma setting exorbitant prices. This would not just a policy misstep: it’s a blatant disregard for the mandate President Trump received from voters to limit government and cut spending.

“Let me be clear: PBM-related proposals would do nothing to decrease taxpayer spending, but actually increase government spending, hike health care costs, and move savings that would otherwise flow to patients toward big drug companies’ bottom line. For example, proposals have been floated to ban market-based incentives.”

At the core of these proposals? A massive federal power grab that would eliminate employer choice in health benefits and drive up premiums by more than $26 billion annually for Americans with employer-sponsored insurance. Costello highlights:

“One proposal under consideration represents an unprecedented government intrusion into the commercial market. Government mandates in the private market would completely eliminate employers’ choice in contracting decisions with PBMs as well as strip away the choice and flexibility they value in designing pharmacy benefits that best fit their patient populations.”

Voters didn’t send Republicans to Washington to rubber-stamp Big Pharma’s agenda—they sent them to cut costs and reduce government interference:

“Voters, like those I represented in Pennsylvania, want simple solutions that make their lives easier and their health care more affordable. Let’s make sure that Congress does not do the opposite. We don’t need unnecessary regulations that make the government more involved in our health care decisions and do nothing to lower prices at the pharmacy counter.”

President Trump has already rejected failed policies like this before. In 2019, his administration scrapped a proposed rule banning rebates in Medicare—price concessions PBMs negotiate with drug companies on behalf of health plan sponsors like employers—after both the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) confirmed it would increase taxpayer costs by nearly $200 billion and raise seniors’ premiums by 25 percent. As POLITICO reported at the time:

“Concerns about 2020 premium hikes and doubts about the rule’s true impact on drug costs weighed the discussion … Trump, already incensed over reports of massive drug price hikes and pharma’s successful legal bid to kill the administration’s drug price advertising mandate, sided with the rule’s opponents and ordered it withdrawn.”

Republicans in Congress must stand firm. As Costello puts it:

“To fulfill the promises made to the American people, Congress should reject PBM proposals that would only increase federal control over health care and not address drug costs.”

Read the full op-ed HERE.