‘Fairness to America’: Donald Trump vows to cut drug costs by matching prices paid in other countries
Trump announced an executive order to reduce medication costs for Medicare beneficiaries by linking prices to those in other countries. The proposal aims to address the high cost of prescription drugs but may face opposition from the pharmaceutical industry.
US President Donald Trump said on Monday that he would sign an executive order aimed at reducing the cost of certain medications.
Ina post on X, Trump said, “I will be instituting a MOST FAVOURED NATION'S POLICY whereby the United States will pay the same price as the Nation that pays the lowest price anywhere in the World.”
The proposed order would instruct the Department of Health and Human Services to align Medicare payments for drugs administered in doctors' offices with the lowest prices paid by other countries, AP reported.
“Our Country will finally be treated fairly, and our citizens Healthcare Costs will be reduced by numbers never even thought of before,” Trump added.
His proposal would likely only impact certain drugs covered by Medicare and given in an office — think infusions that treat cancer, and other injectables. But it could potentially bring significant savings to the government, although the “TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS” Trump boasted about in his post may be an exaggeration.
Medicare, which offers health coverage to around 70 million older Americans, has long been at the center of bipartisan frustration over the high cost of prescription drugs in the Us, especially compared to prices in other wealthy nations. However, Congress has yet to pass a lasting solution, AP reported.
The proposed executive order would adopt a “most favored nation” strategy, linking the prices Medicare pays to pharmaceutical companies for certain drugs to the lower prices paid by a group of other economically advanced countries.
The proposal will face fierce opposition from the pharmaceutical industry.
Only drugs on Medicare Part B — the insurance for doctor's office visits — are likely to be covered under the plan. Medicare beneficiaries are responsible for picking up some of the costs to get those medications during doctor's visits, and for traditional Medicare enrollees there is no annual out-of-pocket cap on what they pay.
Trump's post formally previewing the action came after he teased a “very big announcement” last week. He gave no details, except to note that it wasn't related to trade or the tariffs he has announced imposing on much of the world.
“We're going to have a very, very big announcement to make — like as big as it gets,” Trump said last week.
He came into his first term accusing pharmaceutical companies of “getting away with murder” and complaining that other countries whose governments set drug prices were taking advantage of Americans.
On Sunday, Trump took aim at the industry again, writing that the “Pharmaceutical/Drug Companies would say, for years, that it was Research and Development Costs, and that all of these costs were, and would be, for no reason whatsoever, borne by the suckers' of America, ALONE.”
(With inputs from AP)
- Trump's proposal aims to align U.S. drug prices with those in other economically advanced countries.
- The initiative focuses on certain drugs covered by Medicare, particularly those administered in doctors' offices.
- The pharmaceutical industry is expected to fiercely oppose this executive order.
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