By: Rita Cook
WASHINGTON DC – If you have ever traveled outside the United States and had a conversation with anyone about pharmaceutical drugs you know what Americans have been paying for years is almost unbelievable.
Enter President Donald Trump and his Executive Order to slash prescription drug prices in the U.S. by putting a cap on the currently overinflated situation.
In a press conference the President explained “For the first time in many years we will slash the cost of prescription drugs. We will bring fairness to America and drug prices will come down.”
He said in comparison if you think that in American the drug has often been 10 times more expensive than anywhere else in the world.
“Today Americans spend 70% more for prescription drugs than we spent in the year 2000,” Trump outlined. “Our country has the highest drug prices of anywhere in the world.”
In fact, the United States is home to only 4% of the world’s population, but pharmaceutical companies make more than two-thirds of their profits in America.
“Think of that,” Trump added. “With just 4% of the population the pharmaceutical companies make most of their money, most of their profits from America.”
And while he said he had a great respect for these drug companies, he also postulated “they did a good job of convincing people this was a fair system.”
In a Rand Report on the International Drug Price Comparisons it was said based on 2022 data that “Across all drugs, U.S. prices were 278 percent of other countries’ prices and U.S. gross prices for brand-name originator drugs were 422 percent of prices in comparison countries.”
Some Trump naysayers have said Trump’s EO on lowered drug prices is too vague.
Either way, he was clear when he mentioned the “most favored nation” drug pricing policy.
This also calls for the Health and Human Services secretary to “communicate most-favored-nation price targets to pharmaceutical manufacturers” within 30 days of the order. If there isn’t “significant progress” toward reaching those prices, the secretary “shall propose a rulemaking plan to impose most-favored-nation pricing.”
The EO also tasks the Department of Commerce and the U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer to take action against “unreasonable and discriminatory” policies in foreign countries that will block Americans from lower pharmaceutical costs.
And, the Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will be setting price reduction stipulations on drugs trying to make his changes within 30 days.
Along the same line is the Executive Order signed to reduce regulatory barriers to domestic pharmaceutical manufacturing.
Through this, the plan is the EO will have the (HHS) and U.S. Food and Drug Administration review and eliminate duplicative regulations that hinder domestic pharmaceutical manufacturing.
In short, as the EO confirms Trumps Golden Age maneuvers, “President Trump is clearing bureaucratic obstacles to critical domestic pharmaceutical manufacturing in order to usher in America’s new Golden Age by ensuring access to the medicine Americans need.”
