Lawmakers will likely have a lot to say about health care this year. Paradoxically, they probably won’t accomplish much on the subject.

President Trump has sent conflicting messages about how he wants to handle health care issues. On Feb. 9, he said Republicans had passed all the health care legislation they need for his term and that he was no longer interested in pursuing it.

Ten days later, he traveled to Georgia to talk about the administration’s plans to lower the cost of living, where he put health care back on the agenda. CNN reported the administration is preparing to make health care a central focus ahead of the midterm elections. The reshuffling of senior officials at the Department of Health and Human Services is the first step in those preparations.

................

Some aspects of the administration’s health policy goals, namely efforts to get Americans to eat healthier food, can be accomplished without Congress. But the focus in the upcoming elections will be on the rising cost of living, and most aspects of the president’s agenda that aim to lower drug prices and other health care costs would require legislation.