This week perfectly summarizes Trump’s vision for health care in America: more profits for price-gauging Big Pharma and fewer protections for consumers. The pharmaceutical industry continues to benefit from massive windfalls in the Trump tax, and Trump once again sabotaged health care for millions of Americans, this time by proposing to roll back ACA requirements that protect consumers, including for people with pre-existing conditions.

Trump has continued to sabotage health care for millions of Americans by seeking to expand plans that could deny coverage for pre-existing conditions and cause premiums to increase for customers in the ACA marketplace.

New York Times Editorial: “Having failed in its effort to have Congress repeal the Affordable Care Act, the Trump administration has been relentlessly trying to destroy the health care law on its own. The latest move in that demolition derby came this week, when officials proposed giving insurance companies more leeway to sell junk health plans.”

Vox: “Short-term coverage is allowed to skirt several of the health care law’s core provisions: Plans can deny people insurance based on their medical history, charge them higher premiums because of their preexisting medical conditions, and craft skimpy benefits packages that will appeal mostly to young and healthy people.”

Associated Press: “A government economic analysis that accompanied the proposal forecast a moderate increase in premiums among customers sticking with their ACA plans through HealthCare.gov. Because subsidies are tied to the cost of premiums, taxpayers would end up spending more.”

Big Pharma continues to benefit from massive windfalls in the Trump tax, and is using their savings to benefit wealthy investors over workers or drug research and development.

Axios: “The pharmaceutical industry is using a large portion of its windfall from Republicans' corporate tax cuts to boost its stock prices. Nine drug companies are spending a combined $50 billion on new share buyback programs, a sum that towers over investments in employees or drug research and development.”

Axios: “All of those buybacks were announced during or after the passage of the Republican tax bill. That money is enriching hedge funds, other Wall Street investors and top drug company executives, but it isn't necessarily helping patients.”