"Most of the bigger ideas have either been stopped in the courts or just never got implemented," said Cynthia Cox, a vice president at the Kaiser Family Foundation who follows the health care industry.
- The administration killed its own regulation that would have changed behind-the-scenes negotiations between drug companies and pharmacy benefit managers.
- One of the most consequential drug proposals — tying Medicare drug prices to lower prices negotiated abroad — is not remotely close to going into effect.
- Forcing drug companies to disclose prices in TV ads was a small gambit, and the courts ultimately struck down the idea.
The other side: The policies the administration has seen through, so far, have been relatively modest.
Between the lines: Health care has consistently raked in large sums of profit every year of Trump's presidency. That has been especially true during the pandemic.
- The 2017 tax cuts and this year's tax cuts that were attached to the coronavirus legislation significantly benefited large health care companies that had massive cash reserves overseas or wanted easy tax refunds.
Meanwhile, surprise medical bills are still a thing, consolidation hasn't stopped, lobbying has skyrocketed and federal coronavirus bailouts have favored affluent hospital systems over rural and safety-net hospitals.
- Spending also continues to soar for people who get health insurance through their jobs because hospitals, drug companies and other providers still have no limits on how much they charge for their services and products, and because health insurers and employers always pass along the costs to everyone else.
