Trump to sign executive order he says will slash drug prices by up to 80%
President Donald Trump announced he plans to sign an executive order on Monday that will reduce the cost of prescription drugs and pharmaceuticals “almost immediately, by 30% to 80%.”
Trump made the announcement on Truth Social Sunday.
“For many years the World has wondered why Prescription Drugs and Pharmaceuticals in the United States States of America were SO MUCH HIGHER IN PRICE THAN THEY WERE IN ANY OTHER NATION, SOMETIMES BEING FIVE TO TEN TIMES MORE EXPENSIVE THAN THE SAME DRUG, MANUFACTURED IN THE EXACT SAME LABORATORY OR PLANT, BY THE SAME COMPANY???” Trump wrote. “It was always difficult to explain and very embarrassing because, in fact, there was no correct or rightful answer.
“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. Campaign Contributions can do wonders, but not with me, and not with the Republican Party,” the president continued.
“We are going to do the right thing, something that the Democrats have fought for many years,” Trump added. “Therefore, I am pleased to announce that Tomorrow morning, in the White House, at 9:00 A.M., I will be signing one of the most consequential Executive Orders in our Country’s history. Prescription Drug and Pharmaceutical prices will be REDUCED, almost immediately, by 30% to 80%.
Trump noted that the cost of drugs will rise throughout the World, but for the first time in many years, he added, it will “bring FAIRNESS TO AMERICA!”
“I will be instituting a MOST FAVORED NATION’S POLICY whereby the United States will pay the same price as the Nation that pays the lowest price anywhere in the World,” Trump said. “Our Country will finally be treated fairly, and our citizens Healthcare Costs will be reduced by numbers never even thought of before. Additionally, on top of everything else, the United States will save TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS.”
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Trump signed another executive order last month to standardize Medicare payments for prescription drugs, including those used for cancer patients, no matter where a patient receives treatment. The White House said in a fact sheet at the time that the order could lower prices for patients as much as 60%.
Likewise, the order calls to match the Medicare payment for certain prescription drugs to the price that hospitals pay for those drugs, up to 35% lower than what the government pays to acquire those medications, the White House said.
The order also takes steps to lower insulin prices. Specifically, the order calls for lowering insulin prices for low-income patients or those who are uninsured to as little as 3 cents and injectable epinephrine for treating allergic reactions to as low as $15, coupled with a “small administrative fee,” according to a White House fact sheet.
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Additionally, the order attempts to drive down states’ drug prices by “facilitating importation programs that could save states millions in prescription drug prices,” as well as bolstering programs that assist states secure deals on sickle-cell medications in Medicaid, the fact sheet said.
The order requires Health and Human Services, which is lead by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., to seek comment on the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program, which the Biden administration authorized under the Inflation Reduction Act and allows Medicare to directly engage in hashing out prescription prices with drug companies.
Drug prices have significantly spiked in recent years. Between January 2022 and January 2023, prescription drug prices rose more than 15% and reached an average of $590 per drug product, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. Of the 4,200 prescription drugs included on that list, 46% of the price increases exceeded the rate of inflation.
Previous efforts under the first Trump administration to curb prescription drug prices included installing a cap on Medicaid prescription drug plans for insulin at $35.
Fox News Digital’s Diana Stancy and Alec Schemmel contributed to this report.