Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
Editorials & Other Articles
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
Trump's Order to Cut Drug Prices Would Raise Drug Prices - The American Prospect
Sometimes it’s good to know that the laws of political gravity still operate. Donald Trump is rendering legal residents to foreign prisons and tanking the global economy with unproductive tariffs, as well as canceling entire agencies that safeguard and benefit the public. But he still has to act like he cares deeply about lowering drug prices for Americans.
This was the subject of an executive order released Tuesday, proposing several steps to reduce patient costs. Unlike other EOs that simply violate federal statutes or the Constitution, there’s actually quite a lot presidents can do legally on drug prices. The government is one of the largest pharmaceuticals researchers, the grantor of patents to prescription drug companies, and the largest drug purchaser through health systems like Medicare and Medicaid. This provides lots of authority and leverage to push prices down, bolstered by the Inflation Reduction Act’s provision to allow negotiations of drug prices in Medicare.
But instead of all that, the main action that Trump proposed this week is ripped from drug industry talking points. Despite vowing to lower drug prices, the administration concedes explicitly that this particular proposal will actually raise them.
The issue is known as the “pill penalty,” at least if you’re an industry lobbyist. The IRA’s drug pricing program includes delay periods that give pharmaceutical companies more time to set prices and avoid Medicare negotiation. The delay periods from market launch to the time that negotiated prices would take effect are nine years for so-called “small-molecule” drugs, which often come in the form of tablets or capsules, and 13 years for biologics, which are typically more complex.
This was the subject of an executive order released Tuesday, proposing several steps to reduce patient costs. Unlike other EOs that simply violate federal statutes or the Constitution, there’s actually quite a lot presidents can do legally on drug prices. The government is one of the largest pharmaceuticals researchers, the grantor of patents to prescription drug companies, and the largest drug purchaser through health systems like Medicare and Medicaid. This provides lots of authority and leverage to push prices down, bolstered by the Inflation Reduction Act’s provision to allow negotiations of drug prices in Medicare.
But instead of all that, the main action that Trump proposed this week is ripped from drug industry talking points. Despite vowing to lower drug prices, the administration concedes explicitly that this particular proposal will actually raise them.
The issue is known as the “pill penalty,” at least if you’re an industry lobbyist. The IRA’s drug pricing program includes delay periods that give pharmaceutical companies more time to set prices and avoid Medicare negotiation. The delay periods from market launch to the time that negotiated prices would take effect are nine years for so-called “small-molecule” drugs, which often come in the form of tablets or capsules, and 13 years for biologics, which are typically more complex.
https://prospect.org/health/2025-04-17-trumps-order-cut-drug-prices-would-raise-prices/
