Topline
President Donald Trump will sign an executive order on Monday that will require pharmaceutical companies to price prescription drugs in the U.S. the same as the lowest price they charge in other countries, in a move the president claims will reduce prescription drug prices “by 30% to 80%.”
US President Donald Trump will sign an executive order on Monday that he says will significantly … More
Key Facts
In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump said his executive order will institute a “MOST FAVORED NATION’S POLICY” where the U.S. will pay the same price for a drug as the “Nation that pays the lowest price anywhere in the World.”
In his post, the President called out the fact that prescription drug prices in the U.S. were several times higher than those in other countries and said “the ‘suckers’ of America” were being forced to bear drugmakers’ claimed research and development costs “ALONE.”
Trump claimed his order would bring prescription drug prices in the U.S. down “almost immediately, by 30% to 80%” but go up elsewhere in the World, “in order to equalize and…bring FAIRNESS TO AMERICA!”
A few hours before making the post, the president teased the announcement, saying his next Truth Social post “will be one of the most important and impactful I have ever issued.”
The post did not specify how his administration would implement the plan or how it would impact the cost of Medicare and Medicaid drugs.
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How Much More Do Americans Spend On Prescription Drugs Compared Others?
A 2024 study published by RAND found that across all drugs, U.S. prices were nearly 2.8 times higher than those in other countries. When only “brand-name originator drugs” were considered, prices in the U.S. were more than 4.2 times higher compared to other countries. The study evaluated drug prices in 32 of the 38 advanced economies in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The report noted that Americans paid 33% less for unbranded, generic drugs than other countries in the study. However, this did not offset the high spending on brand-name drugs, as generics made up only 8% of overall prescription spending despite making up 90% of filled prescriptions in the U.S.
