Washington, DC: US President Donald Trump has declared his plan to sign "one of the most significant executive orders" in the nation's history on Monday at 9 am (local time), aiming to reduce prescription drug and pharmaceutical prices by nearly 30 percent to 80 percent in the US, while also increasing prices worldwide to establish "fairness" in the US for the first time in numerous years.
Trump announced this on his social media platform, Truth Social. He expressed his intention to implement a "most favored nation's policy," which would ensure that the US pays the same price as the nation with the lowest cost anywhere globally.
In his Truth Social post, Trump remarked, "For many years, the world has questioned why prescription drugs and pharmaceuticals in the United States are SO MUCH MORE EXPENSIVE THAN IN ANY OTHER COUNTRY, SOMETIMES BEING FIVE TO TEN TIMES COSTLIER THAN THE SAME MEDICATION, PRODUCED IN THE SAME LABORATORY OR PLANT BY THE SAME COMPANY??? It has always been challenging to clarify and very embarrassing because, in reality, there was no appropriate or justifiable explanation. The Pharmaceutical/Drug Companies have claimed for years that it was due to Research and Development Costs, insisting that all these expenses would be, without exception, shouldered by the 'suckers' of America, ALONE. Campaign Contributions can accomplish remarkable things, but not with me and not with the Republican Party."
"We are going to take the right action, something that the Democrats have advocated for many years. Therefore, I am thrilled to announce that tomorrow morning, at 9:00 A.M. at the White House, I will be signing one of the most transformative Executive Orders in our Country's history. Prescription Drug and Pharmaceutical prices will be CUT, almost immediately, by 30% to 80%. They will rise globally to promote balance and, for the first time in many years, bring FAIRNESS TO AMERICA! I will be establishing a MOST FAVORED NATION'S POLICY, ensuring that the United States will pay the same price as the Nation that pays the lowest cost worldwide. Our Country will finally receive fair treatment, and the healthcare expenses for our citizens will decrease by amounts previously unimaginable. Furthermore, in addition to everything else, the United States will save TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS. Thank you for your attention to this matter. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN," he said.
https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114491534347862682
Earlier in April, Trump enacted another executive order to standardize Medicare payments for prescription drugs, including those related to cancer treatment, regardless of where the patient receives care. At that time, the White House indicated in a fact sheet that the order could lead to price reductions for patients by up to 60 percent, according to Fox News.
The White House noted that the order calls for aligning the medical payment for specific prescription drugs to the prices that hospitals pay for those drugs, which could be up to 35 percent less than what the government pays to obtain those medications.
As stated in a White House fact sheet, the order includes measures aimed at lowering insulin prices. Specifically, the order focuses on reducing insulin costs for low-income patients or those without insurance to as little as 3 cents, and injectable epinephrine for allergic reactions to as low as USD 15, along with a "small administrative fee."
Furthermore, the order aims to lower drug prices in the US by "promoting importation programs that could save states millions on prescription drugs" and enhancing initiatives that help states negotiate prices for sickle-cell treatments in Medicaid, as stated in the White House fact sheet.
The order mandates that Health and Human Services solicit feedback on the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program, which the Biden administration implemented under the Inflation Reduction Act, allowing Medicare to directly negotiate prescription prices with pharmaceutical companies, according to Fox News.
In recent times, there has been a notable rise in drug prices. From January 2022 to January 2023, prescription drug costs escalated by more than 15 percent, reaching an average of USD 590 per drug product, as reported by the US Department of Health and Human Services.
