What does he mean?
Trump wants to repeal the ACA, but likes some parts of it, including the pre-existing condition provision. Further, he has stated he does not want people to “die in the streets,” suggesting he supports some kind of free or low-cost public health option.

What does she mean?
Clinton supports the ACA, but has indicated she will make changes to it. For example, she has repeatedly urged Congress to repeal the Cadillac tax and has proposed modifications to lower out-of-pocket costs and increase access to pharmaceutical drugs. ¹

What do they mean?
Both Trump and Clinton would repeal the Cadillac tax.²

The Cadillac Tax is set to start in 2020. It is an excise tax of 40% on the cost of health coverage exceeding the threshold value of $10,200 for individual coverage and $27,500 for a family. It is considered a major funding vehicle for the Affordable Care Act. ³

What do they mean?
Both candidates have said they would like to see the cost of coverage go down. Trump’s proposed plan seeks to increase consumer choice, provide individual tax relief for health insurance and keep plans portable and affordable. He also seeks to break health insurance company monopolies and allow individuals to buy insurance across state lines.

Clinton has also argued against health insurance monopolies and has published a comprehensive plan for reducing out-of-pocket health insurance costs.⁴

What do they mean?
Both candidates have stated they would like to see the costs of pharmaceutical drugs go down, but each, for the most part, has a different approach. Both Trump and Clinton support allowing government-run Medicare to set drug prices to reduce the growth in healthcare costs.⁵

What do they mean?
Both candidates oppose the trend of insurer consolidation/increased mergers/insurer monopolies.⁶

There have been several proposed mergers of large insurers in recent months (e.g., Humana and Aetna). The candidates have expressed concern that this will lead to fewer options for consumers. The companies have stated that merging will enable them to lower prices for consumers.

What do they mean?
Both candidates have urged for greater healthcare provider transparency⁷ in order to help consumers make more informed choices.

Clinton specifically has mentioned the need to end “surprise” medical bills that occur, for instance, when a patient visits an in-network facility and unwittingly receives services from a doctor who is not part of their network and ends up with steep bills.

What does he mean?
Trump supports CDHPs. His proposed healthcare plan calls for tax-free HSAs and greater access and portability of CDHPs. ⁸

What does she mean?
Clinton has not expanded on this initiative.

What do they mean?
This is a major policy initiative of Trump.⁹ It has not been addressed by Clinton on the campaign trail.

States currently set their own regulations for insurance and establish their own requirements. These existing laws inhibit interstate sales of health insurance. Trump proposes to modify these laws in an effort to increase competition.

What do they mean?
These candidate views were discussed during the primary debates.¹⁰