Trump issues executive order to lower Medicare drug prices for seniors

Order’s ‘most-favored-nation price’ ties Medicare costs to those paid in other countries. Drugmakers outraged.

Democrats claim it is a distraction.

“…Trump’s approach is strongly opposed by the pharmaceutical industry and some conservatives who prefer the free market set competitive prices. But the president has been arguing since 2018 that U.S. senior pays far higher prices because drug makers off-load the development costs on Americans while providing discounts in foreign countries with cost controls.

“Americans pay more per capita for prescription drugs than residents of any other developed country in the world,” the president’s order said. “It is unacceptable that Americans pay more for the exact same drugs, often made in the exact same places.  Other countries’ governments regulate drug prices by negotiating with drug manufacturers to secure bargain prices, leaving Americans to make up the difference — effectively subsidizing innovation and lower-cost drugs for the rest of the world.”…”