As a physician, cancer survivor, and former governor, I'm endorsing Donald J. Trump for President—and the biggest reason why is for all that he will do to fix health care in America.
A few days ago, I had the honor of having lunch with the President at Mar-a-Lago, and we talked about people we knew in common, the world situation, and some of the health challenges that face America. Most people don't realize how much President Trump did for health care in his first term, but he has a remarkable record. But what is more important is the road ahead. He made it clear he intends to follow through for the American people.
Here are some of the ways I think a second Trump term could be transformative for the health and wellbeing of every American.
Trump would be transformative in protecting Medicare for seniors and others who rely on It. Some want to cut Medicare benefits, which is wrong. Tens of millions of Americans have come to rely on the security of Medicare and only by unleashing our economic engine in sectors like energy, manufacturing and high technology can we begin to produce the kinds of gains in economic growth and real wages that have a chance to extend Medicare's practical life for the baby-boomers and their descendants.
Trump would also lower health care prices. Ask any small business up to any large corporation: None of Obamacare's promises were kept. Deductibles and copays have risen far beyond inflation and the continuity of care has suffered.
As a patient, I beat prostate cancer a couple years ago. Like most Americans, I faced big expenses and limited choices of treatments and doctors. After 14 years, now is the time to fix Obamacare and make healthcare more affordable.
Trump would also continue to lower drug prices. In his first term, President Trump successfully lowered drug prices for the first time in nearly five decades. But now, Biden's policies are not only increasing prices, but they are also creating enormous drug shortages for chemotherapy, ADHD drugs, and basic medications. As a doctor, I never imagined telling our patients that we can't treat them because we don't have a basic medicine in our hospital.
Trump would also be effective by creating price transparency in health care. As in any marketplace, transparency is the key to effective competition. Without accurate data, patients are helpless to exercise the most powerful cost containment mechanism in existence—consumer choice. We need to allow patients and their doctors, not bureaucrats, to determine healthcare decisions.
Trump was spectacularly successful in advancing price transparency for patients, but three years of Joe Biden have seen a return to opaque bureaucratic cost-shifting. We need to let market forces work for patients again.
He would also be transformative in combatting the opioid and drug overdose epidemic. Under President Trump's leadership, drug overdose deaths declined for the first time in 30 years. But now illegal drugs like fentanyl are flowing over a completely open southern border and overdose deaths are tragically increasing once again. We need a president dedicated to securing our borders, stopping the drug traffickers, and saving American lives.
Trump would also be instrumental in developing new cures. Innovation, not bureaucracy, is the key for developing new treatments faster and cheaper, which will save lives and save money. We need to remove bureaucratic roadblocks to unleash our incredible American researchers so they can get the job done more quickly.
Finally, Trump would improve rural health care. Almost a third of Americans live in rural areas. President Trump saved hundreds of small rural hospitals from collapse during the pandemic. Now is the time to focus new technologies and new solutions so that every rural American can also live their dreams.
From the vantage point of someone who experienced every side of the health care equation, there is no question that President Trump has the best track record on healthcare. And now he could become the most transformative health innovator in our lifetimes.
That's just one reason why we need President Trump now more than ever.
Jeff Colyer was the 47th governor of Kansas.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
