Pharma Industry Slams Trump Drug Price Executive Order/ Newslooks/ WASHINGTON/ J. Mansour/ Morning Edition/ The pharmaceutical industry is pushing back against President Trump’s upcoming executive order tying Medicare drug prices to those in other countries. Industry leaders argue the plan threatens innovation and investment. Trump insists the move will dramatically lower healthcare costs for Americans.
Pharma Industry Blasts Trump Drug Pricing Move – Quick Looks
- Trump promises new order linking Medicare drug prices to global lows.
- Pharmaceutical lobby calls plan dangerous for U.S. innovation.
- Policy targets Medicare Part B drugs administered in doctors’ offices.
- Industry warns move could cut investment, boost dependence on China.
- Critics say most Americans won’t see immediate savings.
- Trump revives policy blocked by courts during Biden’s term.
- Drugmakers cite R&D costs; Trump blames industry greed.
Pharma Industry Slams Trump Drug Price Executive Order
Deep Look
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s pledge to lower drug prices through a new executive order is already facing fierce resistance from the pharmaceutical industry, which argues the policy could stifle innovation and weaken America’s medical independence.
Trump announced that he will sign an order Monday that would implement a “Most Favored Nation” pricing model. This would tie what Medicare pays for certain high-cost drugs — typically administered in doctors’ offices — to the lowest price paid by any comparable country.
“I will be instituting a MOST FAVORED NATION’S POLICY whereby the United States will pay the same price as the Nation that pays the lowest price anywhere in the World,” Trump posted on Truth Social Sunday, emphasizing that it would finally offer fair treatment to U.S. citizens and lead to major healthcare savings.
But pharmaceutical companies and their lobbyists see it differently.
“This is a bad deal for American patients,” said Stephen J. Ubl, president and CEO of PhRMA, the industry’s top lobbying group. “Importing foreign prices will cut billions of dollars from Medicare with no guarantee that it helps patients or improves their access to medicines.”
Ubl warned that Trump’s plan would jeopardize future investments in research and development, saying it could make the U.S. more dependent on countries like China for cutting-edge treatments. The industry contends that their pricing reflects the high cost of developing new medicines and that slashing revenue undermines innovation.
Trump’s order would apply only to drugs covered under Medicare Part B, which includes treatments administered in clinical settings, such as cancer infusions or specialty injectables. These drugs accounted for $33 billion in Medicare spending in 2021, and a report from Trump’s previous term noted U.S. prices were often double those paid abroad.
Yet, the new policy won’t affect most Americans directly. It excludes everyday prescriptions filled at pharmacies (Medicare Part D), meaning common medications won’t see price reductions. Patients enrolled in traditional Medicare often pay part of the cost for Part B drugs without any annual cap, so savings would be most noticeable for this group.
The plan revives a failed effort from Trump’s first term. In late 2020, he signed a similar executive order, but implementation was stalled by litigation and ultimately blocked under President Biden’s administration. At the time, the industry argued that handing pricing power to foreign governments gave them “the upper hand” in determining U.S. healthcare policy.
Despite industry backlash, Trump doubled down on his criticism of Big Pharma. On Sunday, he accused drugmakers of using the excuse of research costs to inflate prices — at the expense of American taxpayers. “For years, they said it was all for Research and Development,” he wrote. “But all of these costs were, and would be, for no reason whatsoever, borne by the ‘suckers’ of America, ALONE.”
He also took aim at pharmaceutical lobbying influence in Washington, writing, “Campaign contributions can do wonders, but not with me, and not with the Republican Party.”
Trump has long railed against high drug prices, accusing other countries of exploiting the U.S. because their governments regulate medicine costs while American patients are left with the bill. He campaigned on drug pricing reform in both 2016 and 2020, branding the pharmaceutical industry as a powerful force working against public interest.
While the executive order could bring billions in savings to Medicare, Trump’s Sunday post boasted of “TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS” in reductions — a figure experts say is highly inflated.
Still, the proposal brings fresh focus to drug pricing just as Trump seeks to reinforce his administration’s efforts to overhaul healthcare. The move follows last week’s vague teaser of a “very, very big announcement,” which Trump now reveals is centered on the pricing policy.
With the pharmaceutical industry signaling it’s ready for another legal battle, the outcome of Trump’s revived plan remains uncertain — but the political stakes are high, and the drug pricing debate is back at center stage.
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