I’ve been traveling Louisiana a lot, and affordability, whether it’s gasoline, groceries, or healthcare, is top of mind. And when patients speak to me about how expensive their prescription drugs are, it resonates with them when I say, wait a second, there are middlemen who are jacking up the price for their own profitability. Patients get that, and they want help.
Healthcare is too expensive for Louisiana families. Premiums are climbing, and even those with coverage face thousands of dollars of out-of-pocket costs when they seek care. We have to address not just the cost of insurance, but the cost you pay before insurance kicks in.
I’ll go back to my experience practicing medicine as a physician. If the patient has the power, if the patient is the reason for the care, and not an excuse for a bill, then prices tend to come down. The question is how we achieve that.
The solution is the MVP agenda: money and value for patients. Instead of sending dollars through layers of insurers and middlemen, this approach puts resources directly in patients’ hands and empowers them with the information they need to choose the best care.
I talk directly to families who say the biggest problem they face is paying for care at the beginning of the year. Even those with insurance often meet large deductibles before coverage truly kicks in. The result is that many families delay care or face significant financial strain.
The MVP agenda addresses that directly by supporting their out-of-pocket needs. Families would receive upfront deposits into an account that would be made available on Jan. 1.
Instead of scrambling to pay medical bills, most families would have extra money in their pocket for their drugs, emergency room visits, or lab tests. Over time, families who spend less can build savings, so if a child has an unexpected emergency room visit, they don’t have to drain their bank account to afford it.
Today, patients are forced to choose their care without knowing what it will cost. Oftentimes, their out-of-pocket costs are two to four times as much as what an insurer would pay for the same service. That’s not transparency – it’s a system that benefits giant insurance companies and middlemen over patients.
The MVP agenda empowers patients to compare prices and pick the highest quality, affordable option for care. So, a mom in Lafayette whose child has an earache would be able to pull out her phone, search ‘urgent care near me,’ and quickly compare price and quality to find the best place to treat her child. Employers can integrate these tools into their benefits, helping employees make smarter decisions.
That family or worker will be smarter consumers, bringing down costs and giving them the power to choose the care that works best for their budget and medical needs.
The MVP agenda also lowers the cost of prescription drugs. Congress took a first step with my pharmacy benefit managers reform bill, which was signed into law this year. The administration is also addressing this through TrumpRx, allowing patients to buy drugs directly without unnecessary bureaucracy and hidden fees for insurers, hospitals, and drug wholesalers. We should build on this idea so other private sector platforms can compete and drive down prices, passing on savings to patients rather than lining the pockets of middlemen.
Finally, we need to empower patients to stay healthy. That begins with knowing what is in the food we eat. Mothers in Terrebonne Parish shouldn’t be wondering if the shrimp at the local restaurant is from the Gulf or if it is radioactive, pumped with chemicals, and imported from East Asian seafood farms. Mothers in Livingston Parish shouldn’t be wondering if the added ingredients to the food in the grocery store aisle are unsafe for their children.
The MVP Agenda focuses on what families actually pay – and gives them the power to lower it.
By putting money in people’s pockets and delivering price transparency, the MVP Agenda delivers what Louisianans have been asking for: healthcare they can afford, with control in their hands.
