Trump announces $6.6 billion in prescription drug discounts — but HHS is still figuring out how to pay for them
President Trump has launched a last-minute prescription drug payment plan with no clear way to pay for it.
Trump announced Thursday that his administration would be mailing $200 prescription drug coupons to seniors using Medicare, totaling $6.6 billion. But as of Friday morning, the Department of Health and Human Services was still figuring out where that money would come from.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
As The New York Times' Maggie Haberman also noted, White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows has pushed for the coupon deal despite being a notorious "budget hawk" who always wants to know where government spending is coming from.
-
San Francisco tackles affordability problems with free child careThe Explainer The free child care will be offered to thousands of families in the city
-
How realistic is the Democratic plan to retake the Senate this year?TODAY’S BIG QUESTION Schumer is growing bullish on his party’s odds in November — is it typical partisan optimism, or something more?
-
Taxes: It’s California vs. the billionairesFeature Larry Page and Peter Thiel may take their wealth elsewhere
-
Why Greenland’s natural resources are nearly impossible to mineThe Explainer The country’s natural landscape makes the task extremely difficult
-
Iran cuts internet as protests escalateSpeed Reada Government buildings across the country have been set on fire
-
US nabs ‘shadow’ tanker claimed by RussiaSpeed Read The ship was one of two vessels seized by the US military
-
Maduro pleads not guilty in first US court hearingSpeed Read Deposed Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores pleaded not guilty to cocaine trafficking and narco-terrorism conspiracy
-
Iran’s government rocked by protestsSpeed Read The death toll from protests sparked by the collapse of Iran’s currency has reached at least 19
-
Israel approves new West Bank settlementsSpeed Read The ‘Israeli onslaught has all but vanquished a free Palestinian existence in the West Bank’
-
US offers Ukraine NATO-like security pact, with caveatsSpeed Read The Trump administration has offered Ukraine security guarantees similar to those it would receive from NATO
-
Hong Kong court convicts democracy advocate LaiSpeed Read Former Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai was convicted in a landmark national security trial
