What's at Stake for Medtech as Trump Wins the Presidency?

Editor's note: This story has been updated to reflect that Donald Trump has won the U.S. presidential election.

Sifting through pages upon pages of political rhetoric to learn what's at stake for any given industry in the U.S. presidential election is a daunting task. For those in medtech wanting to know where former President Donald Trump has said on the campaign trail regarding healthcare policy, we've drilled it down for you.

Most of the healthcare commentary from this presidential election that could impact the medical device industry has centered around the Affordable Care Act, Medicare, and drug prices (relevant because of drug-delivery devices such as insulin delivery devices and asthma inhalers).

Trump's statements on healthcare/Medicare:

Despite his remarks during the September 10 presidential debate that he only has "concepts of a plan" for healthcare, the former president has repeatedly shared his views on the Affordable Care Act and Medicare during this election cycle via social media and elsewhere. Below are some highlights of these statements.

Image of former President Donald Trump by Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Wait a minute, which administration really lowered drug prices?

If you're confused by Trump's claim about lowering drug prices (given the Biden-Harris administration has made similar claims), you're not alone.

According to C. Michael White, distinguished professor of pharmacy practice at the University of Connecticut, the Trump and Biden-Harris administrations both have some "very modest wins to tout" when it comes to drug pricing. White teaches and studies the ethics of prescription drug prices and the complexities of drug pricing nationally.

"Delving into the presidential candidates’ successes on a number of drug-pricing policies, you’ll see a continuation of progress across the administrations. Neither the Trump administration nor the Biden-Harris administration, however, has done anything to truly lower drug prices for the majority of Americans," White writes.

In July 2020, the Trump administration enacted a $35 cap on insulin copayments via executive order. In effect, it made participating Medicare Part D programs limit the price of just one of each type of insulin product to $35. For instance, if there were six short-acting insulin products on an insurance plan’s approved drug list, the insurer had to offer one vial form and one pen form at $35.

These price changes did not go into effect during Trump’s presidency. By 2022, only about 800,000 people – or around 11% of the more than 7.4 million people in the U.S. who use insulin to regulate their blood sugar – saw their prices reduced, White noted.

In August 2022, the Biden-Harris administration signed the Inflation Reduction Act into law. This maintained the $35 insulin cap with the same stipulations but made the program mandatory for all Medicare Part D and Medicare Part B members. This expanded the number of people who could benefit from cheaper insulin to 3.3 million, White noted.

"This still doesn’t help a majority of diabetics. If you don’t have Medicare, the $35 reduction does not apply to you," White writes. "Furthermore, pharmaceutical companies are not responsible for lowering insulin costs under these policies, but health plans are on the hook for lowering copayments. Costs could be passed along to beneficiaries in future Medicare premiums."

Read more of White's analysis on the drug pricing topic here.