 Health Care | Health Care |
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Trump signs 'most favored nation' executive order to lower drug prices |
President Trump signed an order laying out his plan to lower prescription drug prices in the U.S. |
Trump's "most favored nation" policy unveiled Monday seeks to ensure that Americans pay for prescription drugs at the same price as those who live in similarly wealthy nations by asking drug manufacturers to voluntarily lower their prices. The order directs Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to create "clear targets" for new drug prices over the next 30 days with the hope of setting off negotiations between drug companies and members of the Trump administration. If negotiations do not begin in a month, Kennedy will then impose a "most favored nation" pricing model capping U.S. drug prices at the lowest rate paid by similarly wealthy countries. The executive order states the government will consider expanding drug importation from other countries or taking other regulatory actions if drug manufacturers do not lower the prices for the U.S. soon. "Basically, all we are doing is equalizing," Trump told reporters during a Monday press conference about the executive order. "We're all going to pay the same." But Trump did not explain what legal authority the U.S. has to pressure companies to lower the price of their drugs. Americans pay more for prescription drugs than in other wealthy nations and have done so for decades. One 2024 report conducted by the Rand Corporation found that in general people in the U.S. pay 2.78 times more for medications than those who live in 33 other wealthy countries. The Trump administration had pressed House Republicans to include the policy in their reconciliation package, but it was absent from the Energy & Commerce Committee's text released Sunday night. A committee staffer told reporters Monday they have no intention of including the policy in the package. Trump tried to implement a similar policy to lower prescription drug costs during his first term. But the policy was blocked by a federal judge in 2020. |
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| How policy will be impacting the health care sector this week and beyond: |
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Legislation introduced by House Republicans late Sunday would slash Medicaid spending significantly by imposing new restrictions on Medicaid beneficiaries such as work requirements and more frequent eligibility checks, but the most controversial changes floated to the program were not included. The bill from the House Energy and Commerce Committee comes ahead of what's expected to be a marathon committee hearing Tuesday. … |
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Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) is warning against his own party's push to slash Medicaid spending, just hours after House Republicans released legislation that could save billions of dollars and make millions of people lose health insurance coverage. Hawley wrote in an op-ed published Monday in The New York Times that paying for President Trump's domestic agenda by slashing health care for the working poor "is both morally wrong … |
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Grab-and-go food items locations across California, Arizona, Nevada and Washington state have been recalled after at least 10 people were sickened and hospitalized from a suspected listeria outbreak linked to the Fresh & Ready Foods company. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced over the weekend that federal, state and local authorities have reopened an investigation into a suspected outbreak that initially was … |
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Upcoming news themes and events we're watching: |
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Let Medicare negotiate NOW |
Big drug companies want Congress to delay Medicare negotiation—costing taxpayers billions and forcing seniors to pay more. Learn more. |
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Branch out with a different read from The Hill: |
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CBO: House GOP plan exceeds $880B savings target |
The Energy and Commerce Committee, which has jurisdiction over Medicaid, surpassed its target of finding $880 billion in savings to help pay for legislation to extend President Trump's tax cuts and other priorities, according to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). In a brief letter to Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.), the CBO said the committee's reconciliation recommendations would reduce … |
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Local and state headlines on health care: |
- Measles outbreak in North Dakota prompts officials to quarantine unvaccinated school children (CNN)
- Texas lawmakers propose abortion pill bill that can't be challenged in state court (The Texas Tribune)
- California promised to boost mental health in schools. Why one key program is behind schedule (Cal Matters)
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Health news we've flagged from other outlets: |
- Why patients are being forced to switch to a second-choice obesity drug (The New York Times)
- Amid the Milwaukee lead crisis, a laid-off CDC scientist volunteered his expertise. It wasn't so simple (Stat)
- Nursing home and elder care residents could be hit by potential Medicaid cuts (The Washington Post)
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Most read stories on The Hill right now: |
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The House Ways and Means Committee on Monday released a fuller version of its part of Republicans’ bill full of President Trump's legislative … Read more |
| Democratic senators are having private conversations about how to help Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.) in the wake of an explosive report that the first-term … Read more |
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Health Safety Net Programs: Will Older Adults Fall Through? Wednesday, May 21 at 8:30 a.m. EDT Join The Hill to discuss how recent shifts in federal health policy are affecting older Americans. From proposed budget cuts to safety-net programs to bipartisan efforts like the EPIC Act, key decisions in Washington could reshape care and access for millions. RSVP NOW |
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