President Trump signed four executive orders on Friday that aim to lower prescription drug prices, seeking to add to his healthcare reform credentials amid sagging approval ratings.
“They represent the most far-reaching prescription drug reforms ever issued by a president, nothing even close,” Trump said in a press briefing on Friday.
The orders would have to be translated into official rules by agencies and are not likely to be in place before the election. Still, Trump portrayed the signing as a blow for seniors against pharmaceutical companies and foreign freeloaders.
The first of four orders will mandate discounts on insulin for hospitals to be passed down to patients.
“These providers should not be receiving discounts for themselves while charging their poorest patients massive, full prices. Under this order, the price of insulin for affected patients will come down to just pennies a day from numbers that you weren't even able to think about. It's a massive cost savings,” Trump said.
Trump will also allow cheaper versions of the same prescription drugs to be imported from Canada, a proposal that drug companies have rebuked.
The Trump administration first released a proposal to import inexpensive drugs in July 2019. The proposal, the Safe Importation Action Plan, called for rulemaking to authorize state, wholesaler, or pharmacy plans to try to set up drug importation programs that abide by Food and Drug Administration safety standards. The FDA would also work with manufacturers to assure that drugs sold to foreign countries abide by FDA regulations to be sold in the United States.
The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, a powerful drug lobbying group, has opposed drug importation, citing potential health risks to American consumers. The Canadian government has also rejected importation proposals, saying importation would deplete the country's own supply of prescription drugs.
Trump also revived a 2019 rule that never came to fruition after pushback from pharmacy benefit managers, which negotiate drug prices with insurers. The proposed rule would require PBMs in Medicare Part D to pass discounts negotiated with insurers directly to the patients using those drugs, allowing Medicare beneficiaries to save money on medications.
Trump said Friday that his new executive order would cut out the “middlemen" and "middlewomen” and directed Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar to “complete the rule-making process he commenced.”
Just as they did in 2019, pharmacy benefit managers are expected to retaliate. The PBM sector has planned an ad campaign to oppose any effort to eliminate rebates and play it as a political mistake that could raise drug costs for the elderly in swing states ahead of the November election, Politico reported.
“The middlemen are making a fortune, and pharmacy benefit managers and people are just bilking Medicare patients with these high drug prices while they pocket gigantic discounts, gigantic discounts,” he said.
The president will also implement a mandate that pharmaceutical companies sell prescription drugs in the U.S. at the same prices as in other countries, called the international drug-pricing index or the “favored nations clause.” Trump has long decried what he calls a "global freeloading" system in which drug companies are able to offer their products at a lower cost to other countries by charging the U.S. more. He first proposed the initiative in July 2019.
“It also means that the U.S. taxpayers are effectively subsidizing the socialist healthcare systems of foreign welfare states and many other countries,” Trump said. “We will end that abuse and restore the principles of free enterprise. ... This has to do with common sense and courage, to be honest.”
Trump said he’ll be meeting with executives from the pharmaceutical industry Tuesday to discuss ways to lower drug prices and out-of-pocket expenses. He added that if the talks are “successful,” the fourth executive order could be scrapped.
2ADrSuess on July 27th, 2020 at 14:27 UTC »
“The president will also implement a mandate that pharmaceutical companies sell prescription drugs in the U.S. at the same prices as in other countries, called the international drug-pricing index or the “favored nations clause.” Trump has long decried what he calls a "global freeloading" system in which drug companies are able to offer their products at a lower cost to other countries by charging the U.S. more.”
That’s what I’m talking about!
Edit: I’ve learned a lot from the comments here, so I’ll summarize in case anyone is interested.
US drug patents are good for 20 years, but generally only useable for 10, sometimes as little as 5 years, this is due to the extensive approval process that we have in the US. After that, the generic versions start flooding the market, and the pharmaceutical companies move on to to something else. That short time frame forces the drug companies to maximize profits while they hold those patents leading to the insane prices we see in the US. However, in places like Europe, there are government-controlled checks on prices where these pharmaceutical companies have to limit the prices they sell for, resulting in US consumers subsidizing foreign healthcare costs, similarly to how we subsidize European military spending through the US led (read heavily funded) NATO.
tc952 on July 27th, 2020 at 14:25 UTC »
Good now get rid of patents on drugs like Insulin
Wotsmenameagain on July 27th, 2020 at 14:13 UTC »
One of the better things he’s started to move on. Hopefully it doesn’t get shot down...