President Donald Trump’s visit Wednesday to Thermo Fisher Scientific in the Cincinnati area put a spotlight on a pharmaceutical manufacturer already helping expand patient access and strengthen domestic production.

Trump used the stop to promote TrumpRx, a portal that directs consumers to manufacturer-backed discount and assistance programs. As Columbus drug-pricing expert Antonio Ciaccia told the Ohio Capital Journal, many of those programs already exist, but putting them in one place could make them easier for patients to find.

The visit also highlighted the role manufacturers are already playing in the affordability debate. Thermo Fisher recently announced plans to invest an additional $2 billion over the next four years to expand U.S. manufacturing and innovation.

At the same time, new polling shows voters increasingly see the bigger affordability problem elsewhere. In Ohio, 72% of voters said health insurance prices, deductibles and coverage denials are their biggest personal health care cost pain points, and 78% said policymakers should focus more on lowering premiums, addressing denials and reducing other barriers to care.

Manufacturers are already part of the solution. The pressure is increasingly on insurers and middlemen. 3/11/2026