Healthcare is one of the policy areas where Harris and Trump differ the most. Still, a poll by Pew released in May found that healthcare is among the top agenda priorities for over half of American voters.
Harris plans to continue the Biden administration’s efforts to expand the Affordable Care Act — colloquially called Obamacare — and make healthcare more accessible to families, the middle class, and people with preexisting conditions. Trump has said he hopes to “repeal and replace” the law and make cuts to Medicare. However, Trump has not publicly outlined an alternate affordable healthcare plan: “If we can come up with a plan that’s going to cost our people, our population less money and be better healthcare than Obamacare, then I would absolutely do it,” he said at the September 10 debate.
In July, at a rally in North Carolina, Harris emphasized her and Biden’s actions to expand the 2022 PACT Act to provide healthcare for millions more veterans, including those who were exposed to toxins while in training or in active service during the Vietnam War, the Gulf War, Iraq, Afghanistan, and post-9/11 combat zones. This follows a 2018 law signed by Trump that allows some veterans to seek VA-funded care at their community medical facilities. Trump has not mentioned new veteran healthcare initiatives as part of his reelection campaign, and he has previously taken credit for a private-sector veteran healthcare program that was introduced under former President Barack Obama.
The price of pharmaceutical drugs is also a priority for voters, as some Americans say they are unable to access prescriptions due to high costs and drug shortages. Throughout her vice presidency and presidential campaign, Harris has vowed to ensure medications are affordable for all Americans, regardless of household income — alongside her proposal to erase medical debt for millions. Harris plans to build on the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, which included provisions to lower the price of insulin to $35 a month. She is also part of the Biden administration’s negotiations with Big Pharma companies over the price of 10 major drugs, including medications to manage diabetes, arthritis, and heart conditions: “Access to healthcare should be a right and not just a privilege of those who can afford it,” Harris said at the debate. The Inflation Reduction Act would require Trump to continue these drug price negotiations should he win a second term. Trump has not focused on drug affordability in his 2024 campaign.
Two years after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, Harris is emphasizing abortion access: “The freedom to make decisions about one’s own body, should not be made by the government,” she said at the debate. The Democratic nominee said she strongly supports reproductive autonomy — advocating for a restored constitutional right to abortion, as well as protections on medication and emergency abortion care. Harris is also the only sitting vice president or president to visit a Planned Parenthood clinic while in office, and has a history of defending reproductive healthcare while Attorney General of California.
Both Harris and Trump have stated support for IVF and fertility treatments following state court decisions earlier this year that called for frozen embryos to be considered people. Trump has even called for federally subsidized IVF — a proposal that is divisive among Republicans.
If re-elected, Trump has said he would not sign a nationwide abortion ban if it were passed by Congress, but his personal stance on the issue has varied during his time in the public eye — and many Americans worry about GOP efforts to limit reproductive healthcare access. At the September 10 debate, Trump said he is proud of overturning Roe vs. Wade, “I did a great service in doing it. It took courage to do it. And the Supreme Court had great courage in doing it,” he said. Trump has maintained his position that abortion should be a state issue, which could allow state legislatures to continue passing bans that restrict abortions and place doctors who perform the procedure at risk of prosecution. In an April interview with Time Magazine, Trump also said he would “let red states monitor women’s pregnancies and prosecute those who violate abortion bans.” Project 2025, a policy plan proposed by Trump allies, also calls for significant national restrictions on abortion and birth control.
Additionally, Trump has said he will ban all gender-affirming healthcare and hormone therapies for minors if he returns to office. But Harris has opposed anti-LGBTQ legislation and is expected to expand on Biden’s previous efforts to protect healthcare for transgender children and adults. She has a record of defending the rights of transgender people since her early career.