Trump: As part of his promise to reduce the cost of prescription drugs, US President Donald Trump hinted at a direct challenge to insurance companies, stating that the savings should go straight to consumers.

Trump said on Friday that “the money should be paid to the people directly, not to the insurance companies.”

Along with FDA Commissioner Marty Makary, CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, and pharmaceutical CEOs, Trump delivered the comments.

He said that under the present system, insurance firms were making undue profits. Trump said, “They have gotten so rich by receiving money and really, far, far more money than they’re entitled to.”

Trump promised to bring together insurance CEOs to advocate for reforms. He said, “I’m going to call a meeting of the major insurance companies.”

GSK CEO Emma Walmsley, Gilead CEO Dan O’Day, Merck CEO Robert Davies, Bristol Myers Squibb General Counsel Cari Gallman, and Amgen Executive Vice President Peter Griffith were among the pharmaceutical executives there.

Kennedy, the health secretary, said that the administration’s actions will have practical consequences.

Kennedy said, “We have mothers with sick children who can’t afford their medications.”

Trump said that one of the main causes of the total expense of healthcare was medication pricing. He said, “This will have a tremendous impact on the reduction of health care.”

He called the statement momentous and refused to answer any questions after it was made. Trump said, “This is the biggest statement of all.”

The cost of prescription drugs is a major factor in Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurance expenditure in the US, with pharmacy benefit managers and insurers serving as important middlemen.

The structure of the US healthcare finance system might be drastically changed by initiatives to transfer savings directly to patients.