President Donald Trump on Monday signed a sweeping executive order aimed at slashing prescription drug prices in the United States, giving pharmaceutical companies a 30-day deadline to cut costs or face action.“Starting today, the United States will no longer subsidise the healthcare of foreign countries… and we’ll no longer tolerate profiteering and price gouging from Big Pharma,” Trump told reporters as he signed the executive order at the White House that drug prices should fall by at least 59 percent — and in some cases as high as 80 or 90 percent.The directive instructs the health department, under Robert F Kennedy Jr.’s leadership, to negotiate new drug prices within a month. Should negotiations fail, Kennedy must create a rule linking US medication prices to lower international rates.Trump further stated, “We’re going to equalize. We’re all going to pay the same. We’re going to pay what Europe pays.”The impact of the Republican president’s executive order on Americans with private health insurance is still unclear. The government mainly has the power to control drug prices through Medicare and Medicaid programs.The announcement of potential drug price reductions coincided with House Republicans unveiling their proposal to reduce Medicaid funding by $880 billion.The proposed “Most Favoured Nation” policy seeks to align US drug prices with the lowest international rates for identical medications. “Whoever is paying the lowest price, that’s the price that we’re going to get,” Trump said.The implementation largely depends on pharmaceutical companies’ willingness to negotiate prices and might face legal opposition, similar to Trump’s previous attempt during his first administration.Trump criticised the current pricing system, highlighting disparities in costs between the US and Europe, particularly regarding the obesity medication Ozempic.“It was really the countries that forced Big Pharma to do things that, frankly, I’m not sure they really felt comfortable doing, but they’ve gotten away with it,” Trump said.He announced plans to investigate nations allegedly pressuring pharmaceutical companies through product restrictions to secure lower prices. He acknowledged challenging “the most powerful lobby in the world — the drug and pharmaceutical lobby.”Earlier on Monday, Trump previewed the reduction: “DRUG PRICES TO BE CUT BY 59%, PLUS! Gasoline, Energy, Groceries, and all other costs, DOWN. NO INFLATION!!!” he wrote on Truth Social.Trump said that lower prescription drug prices in the US would be offset by higher costs in other countries.This isn’t his first attempt to lower drug prices. During his 2017–2021 term, he proposed similar measures, but they were blocked by strong resistance from the pharmaceutical industry.
