President Trump Monday mentioned he’ll implement a prescription drug fee plan that would dramatically decrease costs paid by Medicare and probably Medicaid, though particulars stay murky.
Trump claimed his proposed plan to tie drug costs to these paid in overseas nations would decrease funds by the U.S. by as much as 90%, though consultants mentioned it’s unclear if the plan is authorized or how precisely it will work.
“Whatever the lowest price is in other developed countries, that’s the price we’ll pay,” Trump mentioned in a rambling press convention that touched on his wider world commerce battle and different points.
“We can get prices down 60, 70, 80 even 90%,” Trump added. “It’s even more than that when you think of it mathematically.”
Large Pharma has already pushed again on the Trump plan, calling value controls a “bad deal” for American sufferers. Drugmakers have lengthy argued that any threats to their earnings may affect the analysis they do to develop new medicine however Trump says the world ought to pay an even bigger share of these prices.
“Importing foreign prices will cut billions of dollars from Medicare with no guarantee that it helps patients or improves their access to medicines,” Stephen J. Ubl, the president and CEO of PhRMA, mentioned in an announcement.
Trump’s so-called “most favored nation” method to Medicare drug pricing has been controversial since he first tried to implement it throughout his first time period. He signed the same government order within the last weeks of his presidency, however a courtroom order later blocked the rule from going into impact.
It seems that the plan is not going to immediately decrease costs paid by customers for prescriptions at drug shops. It’s doubtless the chief order would solely immediately affect medicine coated by Medicare Half B, the insurance coverage on physician’s workplace visits for older America.
The White Home says the plan would additionally decrease costs for Medicaid, which covers tens of hundreds of thousands of poor and disabled Individuals, and even customers, though it didn’t clarify how that may work.
Officers added that the plan will focus most on the medicine for which costs are a lot increased within the U.S. than abroad, which may embrace widespread weight reduction and diabetes remedies known as GLP-1 medicine.
Trump regaled reporters with a narrative a couple of rich good friend who purchased what he known as “the fat drug” in Britain for a a lot cheaper price than he paid within the U.S. for a similar therapy.
The U.S. spends way over different international locations in masking these medicine, a truth critics in each events have highlighted for years. Medicare Half B drug spending topped $33 billion in 2021.
Trump says the brand new plan will save taxpayers and customers large bucks. However many Individuals gained’t see any financial savings.
Trump’s proposal would doubtless solely affect sure medicine coated by Medicare and given in an workplace — like infusions that deal with most cancers, and different injectables.
Medicare supplies medical health insurance for roughly 70 million older Individuals. Complaints about U.S. drug costs being excessive, even in comparison with different massive and rich international locations, have lengthy drawn the ire of each main political events, however an enduring repair has by no means cleared Congress.
Trump didn’t clarify if his order would require congressional approval, though he mentioned it will be included in his sprawling “One Big Beautiful” finances invoice that GOP leaders are struggling to push by Congress.
The Republican invoice goals to make large cuts to each Medicaid and Medicare that non-partisan finances analysts say would trigger hundreds of thousands of Individuals to lose their medical health insurance.
Initially Revealed: Might 12, 2025 at 11:00 AM EDT
