Kamala Harris is at it again, pushing a big government plan that sounds good on paper but could backfire on regular folks. Her latest move? A proposal to cap prescription drug costs, which some healthcare analysts say will end up raising health insurance premiums. So, while the Vice President claims to be fighting for the average American, her plan might just make it harder for people to afford their insurance.
Harris recently rolled out a series of economic proposals, clearly trying to put some distance between herself and President Biden’s shaky economic record. One of the big ideas she’s pitching is to expand the caps on prescription drug costs that were part of the so-called “Inflation Reduction Act” passed by Democrats in 2022. That law set a $35-a-month limit on insulin prices for Medicare patients, and now Harris wants to impose similar caps across all healthcare plans.
But here’s the problem: healthcare experts are warning that if this plan goes into effect, health insurance premiums could go up. And not by just a little bit. Ed Haislmaier from the Heritage Foundation told the media that premiums have already increased since the Inflation Reduction Act took effect, and they’re likely to climb even higher if Harris gets her way.
According to Haislmaier, premiums for Medicare Part D supplemental plans have jumped by 46% since that act passed, and the number of plans available has dropped by 31%. It seems that when the government tries to control prices, the costs don’t just disappear—they get shifted around, usually onto the backs of consumers.
If Harris’s proposal becomes law, private insurance premiums could continue to rise steadily. Last year, family coverage premiums hit nearly $24,000, and they’re not likely to get any cheaper if this plan goes through. Even Matthew Rae from the healthcare think tank KFF admitted that while some people might benefit from the caps, most others will see their premiums go up as a result.
Harris’s plan is just another example of how politicians love to propose flashy solutions that create more problems in the long run. If she really wanted to help lower healthcare costs, she might want to rethink the idea of more government interference and consider how to make healthcare more affordable without making insurance even more expensive.
