How Should ‘Make America Healthy Again’ Translate to Concrete Policy Change?

RFK Jr. has officially been confirmed to lead the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). Although the appointment was controversial, it’s clear the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement has real traction with the general public. A majority of Republicans have a favorable view of MAHA, which is significant given the now Trump cabinet member has been a lifelong Democrat.

But now that MAHA is more than just an idea, the question becomes, how does it translate to a concrete policy? One clear mandate for RFK Jr. and the Trump administration is to pry government bureaucrats out of healthcare decisions while promoting more nutritional diets. MAHA moms and their children do not want Uncle Sam playing doctor.

First, this means fostering more patient choice in what types of healthcare individuals and families can access. To get the job done, the Trump administration and its allies in Congress should thin government regulations that are largely associated with the Affordable Care Act. Americans should be free to access health plans that best fit their unique circumstances—ranging from fully-loaded Cadillac insurance to shoestring catastrophic coverage.

One-size-fits-all mandates limit options and balloon prices for everyone. Why? Because the whole system relies on increasing government subsidies to artificially keep health plan costs low. In the end, while some families qualify for financial help, the real winners are the large hospital networks and insurance companies that have access to the taxpayer-funded spending bonanza.

In 2023, $4.9 trillion supported the U.S. healthcare industrial complex. That is a 60 percent increase since the ACA went into full effect in 2014.

Next, the White House should direct government bureaucrats to stop manipulating the medicine market at the expense of families. Patients in consultation with their doctors should have access to a wide variety of safe treatments, therapies, and vaccines without Uncle Sam unnecessarily throwing a wrench into the gears. A regulation dubbed the “pill penalty,” for example, is one silly rule that the MAHA movement should put in its crosshairs.

Signed into law during the Biden administration without a single Republican vote, the rule leverages the heavy hand of government to tip the scales in favor of certain medications over others. More specifically, small molecule drugs—which typically come in easy-to-take pill or tablet form—are subject to government price controls after nine years of being on the market. Meanwhile, biologic products that are usually administered by healthcare providers enjoy a 13-year exemption.

The arbitrary policy throws cold water on research and development projects exploring new innovations that use small molecule medicines, which often include oncology therapies because of their unique ability to penetrate cancerous cells. Working together with Congress, HHS should push legislation to level the playing field so R&D spending isn’t guided by Washington bureaucrats.

To round out the MAHA agenda, the Trump administration should explore opportunities to encourage Americans to have healthier lifestyles prior to needing medical intervention. Regular check-ups with primary care physicians should still be practiced, but prioritizing a nutritional diet and exercise to avoid health issues before they even begin is a no-brainer.

Baking MAHA nutritional priorities into the upcoming Federal Dietary Guidelines would be a good first step. It’s a report jointly put out every five years by HHS and the U.S. Department of Agriculture that advises Americans on what to eat and drink to promote health and prevent disease. The guidelines subsequently inform everything from school lunch menus to food assistance programs.

Finally getting the food pyramid right would go a long way towards restoring trust in our government’s public health institutions.

Make America Healthy Again started out as a slogan to advance the political popularity of RFK Jr. But fast forward to today and it now serves as a policy blueprint for the federal government’s largest civilian agency. Hopefully, MAHA is more than a campaign rallying cry and it translates to concrete policy changes that benefit American families.

Dr. Robert Campbell is a practicing anesthesiologist in Lebanon County and a partner of the Job Creators Network Foundation.