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President Donald Trump signed an executive order in the Oval Office on Tuesday to lower prescription drug prices for many Americans.
The order directs the Department of Health and Human Services to significantly reduce drug prices for those on Medicare and seniors.
According to a White House Fact Sheet, the order seeks to improve “the Medicare Drug Pricing Negotiation Program in order to eclipse the 22% in savings achieved in the program’s first year.”
It will also focus on, “Aligning Medicare payment for certain prescription drugs with the cost by which hospitals actually acquire them, which can be 35% lower than what the government currently pays,” and, “Standardizing Medicare payments for prescription drugs, such as cancer treatments, regardless of where the patient receives care, which can lower prices by as much as 60%.”
Other details in the order include providing substantial discounts to low-income patients for life-saving medications. Insulin prices for these patients and the uninsured will drop to as low as $0.03, plus a small administrative fee. Under the same conditions, injectable epinephrine will be available for as little as $15.
The order also supports states in lowering drug costs by facilitating importation programs that could save millions in prescription expenses. It enhances efforts to help states secure significantly better deals on costly sickle-cell medications in Medicaid beyond the standard 23.1% discount required by law.
Trump’s executive order also blasted the Biden administration’s efforts to lower drug costs for Americans.
“The American people deserve better. It is time to restore the progress our Nation made in my first term to deliver lower prescription drug prices by putting Americans first and making America healthy again,” the order stated.
The order follows recent discussions of the impact of tariffs on drug prices.
“We don’t make our own drugs anymore,” Trump told reporters Monday. “The drug companies are in Ireland, and they’re in lots of other places, China.”
The administration continues to address drug prices as part of a larger movement to improve health services to Americans while decreasing government waste in agency efforts. The HHS intends to reduce its workforce by 20,000 employees, drop its regional offices from 10 to five and implement new technologies to better serve Americans.
