Speaking from the White House Monday morning, President Donald Trump declared the era of Americans subsidizing the low prescription drug prices of Europeans is over.
"The principle is simple, whatever the lowest price paid for a drug in other developed countries, that is the price that Americans will pay," Trump said before signing an executive order, adding Europeans need to pay their share of the burden for drug research and development costs.
President Trump: "The principle is simple, whatever the lowest price paid for a drug in other developed countries, that is the price that Americans will pay... my administration will also cut out the middle men.. nobody knows who they are!" pic.twitter.com/fcaLR6pQPj
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) May 12, 2025
Trump also rejected arguments he is attempting to issue price controls on pharmaceutical companies and their products.
On accusations that signing an executive order implementing Most Favored Nation prescription drug pricing is "price control," President Trump sets the record straight:
— Townhall.com (@townhallcom) May 12, 2025
"What was price control was before... price control was what they were doing... because at that time they had a… pic.twitter.com/RaQ8uTj7PF
Food and Drug Administrator Dr. Marty Makary added details about how Americans have been getting "ripped off."
"THE FUNDAMENTAL PROBLEM WE'VE HAD IN HEALTHCARE IS NON-COMPETITIVE MARKETS." - @MartyMakary pic.twitter.com/oQ3NOdKnET
— Real America's Voice (RAV) (@RealAmVoice) May 12, 2025
Here are the details of the executive order, courtesy of the White House:
The Order directs the U.S. Trade Representative and Secretary of Commerce to take action to ensure foreign countries are not engaged in practices that purposefully and unfairly undercut market prices and drive price hikes in the United States.
The Order instructs the Administration to communicate price targets to pharmaceutical manufacturers to establish that America, the largest purchaser and funder of prescription drugs in the world, gets the best deal.
The Secretary of Health and Human Services will establish a mechanism through which American patients can buy their drugs directly from manufacturers who sell to Americans at a “Most-Favored-Nation” price, bypassing middlemen.
If drug manufacturers fail to offer most-favored-nation pricing, the Order directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) propose rules that impose most-favored-nation pricing; and (2) take other aggressive measures to significantly reduce the cost of prescription drugs to the American consumer and end anticompetitive practices.
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