Trump promises immediate sweeping cuts to drug prices in his ‘most important and impactful’ Truth Social post
President Donald Trump announced Sunday that he will sign an executive order sign which will reduce prescription drug prices by up to 80 percent “almost immediately.”
Earlier in the day, Trump heralded the announcement as “one of the most important and impactful” of his career.
The president said the order, which is set to be signed on Monday morning, will institute a “most favored nations” policy, where the U.S. will buy drugs at a price matching the lowest rate paid by other countries.
The announcement did not detail how Trump plans to implement his plans or achieve such rapid savings.
The White House plans to pursue discounts on a selection of drugs purchased through the Medicare federal health insurance program, Politico reported earlier this week, after attempts to lobby congressional Republicans to include similar provisions in a spending bill reportedly fell flat.
Trump attempted a similar initiative in 2018 during his first term, though it was opposed by the drug industry. A last-minute attempt to revive the idea in 2020 as Trump was leaving office was later rejected in federal court.
“Our Country will finally be treated fairly, and our citizens’ Healthcare Costs will be reduced by numbers never even thought of before,” Trump added in his announcement today, claiming, “We are going to do the right thing, something that the Democrats have fought for many years.”
In fact, under the Biden administration’s 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, Medicare was empowered to begin negotiating drug prices directly with pharma companies for the first time, a provision the previous White House estimated would save taxpayers nearly $8 billion once fully implemented in 2026.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated with new information.
