Trump unveils more prescription drug pricing discounts projected to save Americans $600B: 'Major step forward'
Thirteen percent of the pills. Seventy-five percent of the profits. Twenty-six firms just lost that math.
Summary
- The New York Post reports President Trump announced nine more most-favored-nation deals in the Oval Office, projecting more than $600 billion in savings and bringing the roster to 26 manufacturers covering 89% of the branded market.
- The nine are Alcon, Astellas Pharma, BeOne Medicines, BridgeBio, CSL, Kyowa Kirin, Sun Pharma, Teva, and UCB, joining 17 larger houses including Pfizer, Eli Lilly, and Amgen.
- A 2024 RAND study found U.S. prescription prices nearly three times higher than in other developed countries, and more than four times higher for brands. Trump said America consumes 13% of the pills and supplies 75% of the profits.
- HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said the pacts now cover nine of ten drugs Americans use. Firms give Medicaid the foreign low price and get tariff protection. Examiner notes July drug prices fell 0.8% and are down 3.1% year over year, the steepest drop in more than 60 years.
Commentary
A cashier still counts coins on a linoleum counter for a blood-pressure fill that used to be a week's gas. She did not work that register so a foreign list price could fund an American bill.
That is the gap. Thirteen percent of the pills. Seventy-five percent of the take. Twenty-six names on a deal. The honest dad already paid the copay. The old list paid the yacht.
Look every working mother who still splits a tablet with a kitchen knife in the eye and answer this: if 26 firms can meet the foreign price, who still wants the American to pay four times?
Comments
$600 billion is a town's lifetime. Keep the pact in writing.
I paid brand prices that could buy a used truck. 4x is not innovation. It is a toll.
26 firms. 89% branded. Nine of ten drugs. Kennedy said it in the room.
Allied patients already pay the low list. A U.S. surcharge was the scandal.
Alcon through UCB plus Pfizer, Lilly, Amgen. File the 26.
I still split a pill. I want the foreign price on my receipt.
A glaucoma drop should not be a second rent.
Tariff protection for a low Medicaid price is a trade, not a surrender.
Post printed $600B, 13%, 75%, 26 firms, and RAND's 3x. Argue those nouns.
Lock the MFN. Publish the list. Keep the drop going. The copay is not a donation.
