In this RedState article, Joe Cunningham argues that healthcare costs are no longer just a burden at the doctor’s office—they are reshaping major life decisions for tens of millions of Americans while Big Pharma simultaneously squeezes programs meant to help the most vulnerable.
- A new West Health-Gallup survey found that nearly 70 million Americans delayed surgeries or other medical treatment, showing just how deeply unaffordable healthcare has become.
- The financial strain is spilling into everyday life, with millions putting off job changes, education, and home purchases, while many households are cutting food, utilities, and transportation costs just to keep up with medical bills.
- The article stresses that this is not merely a low-income problem, since middle- and even upper-income households are also delaying major life decisions because of healthcare expenses.
- Cunningham highlights the federal 340B drug pricing program, which requires pharmaceutical companies to provide discounted outpatient drugs to safety-net hospitals so those hospitals can continue serving low-income, uninsured, and rural patients.
- Since 2020, major drug manufacturers have increasingly restricted those discounts when hospitals rely on outside contract pharmacies, a move the article says has already cost safety-net hospitals billions and forced many to cut services.
- The piece warns that efforts to shift 340B to a rebate model would have made hospitals front the full cost of expensive drugs and wait for reimbursement, putting enormous pressure on facilities already operating on razor-thin margins.
- Although a federal court blocked the rebate pilot program, the broader legal and political fight continues, with states stepping in as Washington struggles to enforce protections against the drug companies.
- The article’s central message is that as healthcare becomes less affordable for ordinary Americans, the very hospitals and programs designed to soften the blow are being undermined, leaving struggling patients with fewer options and even greater risk.
Read the full story: https://redstate.com/joesquire/2026/03/28/as-more-americans-adjust-their-lives-due-to-healthcare-costs-drug-companies-gut-programs-that-help-n2200727
