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The US healthcare sector has quietly become one of the most politically exposed parts of the market again.
In the past few weeks, President Trump has:
Pushed new actions to cut prescription drug prices, including “most-favored-nation”–style pricing deals with big manufacturers like Eli Lilly ($LLY ( ▼ 0.35% )) and Novo Nordisk ($NVO ( ▼ 0.37% )) , aimed at forcing US prices closer to those in other developed countries.
Continued reshaping the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) drug-pricing framework, via executive orders instructing agencies to tighten rules on how much Medicare pays and how negotiated prices are set.
Allowed a shutdown deal to move forward without extending enhanced ACA (Obamacare) premium subsidies, pushing the decision into December and spooking health insurers whose business depends on those subsidies.
At the same time, healthcare stocks have underperformed the broader market in 2025, weighed down by regulatory risk, pricing pressure and uncertainty around reimbursement — even though, historically, they’re seen as defensive and relatively stable.
Against that backdrop, you’ve also got new competitors like Hims & Hers and other telehealth platforms attacking the most profitable parts of the value chain — branded lifestyle meds, primary care, and mental health — with direct-to-consumer, subscription-based models.
So where does that leave the industry?
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