Trump Signs Order to Test Lower Drug Price Strategy
President Donald Trump started a process that could cut some drug costs by tying prices to those paid by countries with national health systems, a move drugmakers said will stifle innovation.
The Sunday order came after an earlier attempt to force pharmaceutical companies to make reductions didn’t yield results.
Trump, during a trip to Nevada, tweeted that he signed an order on the “most favored nation” plan, which would try to link Medicare Part B and Part D prices to lower prices paid by other countries. The approach was broader than an initial effort that only targeted Part B.
The order is a first step that instructs the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to begin the rule-making process to test “a payment model” for some medicines. It offered few details.
“Americans should not bear extra burdens to compensate for the shortfalls that result from the nationalized public healthcare systems of wealthy countries abroad,” the order states.
The order falls far short of an immediate cut that Trump has touted would lower patients’ out-of-pocket costs. Instead, it starts the process for HHS Secretary Alex Azar to test the impact of such a change. That likely means patients won’t see lower prices until well after the U.S. presidential election, if at all, as the path to lowering drug prices remains uncertain.
@realDonaldTrump
Just signed a new Executive Order to LOWER DRUG PRICES! My Most Favored Nation order will ensure that our Country gets the same low price Big Pharma gives to other countries. The days of global freeriding at America’s expense are over…8:58 PM · Sep 13, 2020
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