October 19th, 2020
President Trump spoke in Florida on Friday at an event on protecting America’s seniors—ensuring that they receive the care, respect, and support they deserve.
“I will protect you, I will defend you, and I will fight for you with every ounce of energy and conviction that I have,†President Trump said. “You devoted your life to this country, and I am devoting my life to you.â€
Average Medicare premiums have dropped by 34% since President Trump took office. Some states have experienced price reductions of over 50% or more. Medicare prescription drug prices have also declined, with premiums down 12% on average.
“I stood up to big pharma, and that’s not easy,†President Trump said. “They got big money. They’re the biggest lobbyists in this country, by far. And I signed an executive order implementing a ‘most favored nations’ policy for the United States,†which ensures that Medicare won’t pay more than other countries for important drugs.
After Coronavirus spread from China across the world, the Trump Administration went to work holding Beijing and the World Health Organization accountable for their failures while protecting the American people from both economic and physical harm.
“I’m moving heaven and earth to safeguard our seniors from the China Virus, to deliver lifesaving therapies in record time, and to distribute a safe and effective vaccine before the end of the year,†President Trump said.
“You’re the generation that defeated fascism and triumphed over communism, sent American astronauts to the Moon. You built our country into the greatest and most powerful nation the world has ever known.â€
Our seniors remind us of the extraordinary American legacy that President Trump is fighting to protect.
On September 13, 2020, President Trump issued the following Executive Order on Lowering Drug Prices:
Executive Order on Lowering Drug Prices by Putting America First
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered as follows:
Section 1. Purpose. Americans pay more per capita for prescription drugs than residents of any other developed country in the world. 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. The Council of Economic Advisers has found that Americans finance much of the biopharmaceutical innovation that the world depends on, allowing foreign governments, many of which are the sole healthcare payers in their respective countries, to enjoy bargain prices for such innovations. Americans should not bear extra burdens to compensate for the shortfalls that result from the nationalized public healthcare systems of wealthy countries abroad.
In addition to being unfair, high drug prices in the United States also have serious economic and health consequences for patients in need of treatment. High prices cause Americans to divert too much of their scarce resources to pharmaceutical treatments and away from other productive uses. High prices are also a reason many patients skip doses of their medications, take less than the recommended doses, or abandon treatment altogether. The consequences of these behaviors can be severe. For example, patients may develop acute conditions that result in poor clinical outcomes or that require drastic and expensive medical interventions.
In most markets, the largest buyers pay the lowest prices, but this has not been true for prescription drugs. The Federal Government is the largest payer for prescription drugs in the world, but it pays more than many smaller buyers, including other developed nations. When the Federal Government purchases a drug covered by Medicare — the cost of which is shared by American seniors who take the drug and American taxpayers — it should insist on, at a minimum, the lowest price at which the manufacturer sells that drug to any other developed nation.
Sec. 2. Policy. (a) It is the policy of the United States that the Medicare program should not pay more for costly Part B or Part D prescription drugs or biological products than the most-favored-nation price.
(b) The “most-favored-nation price†shall mean the lowest price, after adjusting for volume and differences in national gross domestic product, for a pharmaceutical product that the drug manufacturer sells in a member country of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) that has a comparable per-capita gross domestic product.
Sec. 3. Payment Model on the Most-Favored-Nation Price in Medicare Part B. To the extent consistent with law, the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall immediately take appropriate steps to implement his rulemaking plan to test a payment model pursuant to which Medicare would pay, for certain high-cost prescription drugs and biological products covered by Medicare Part B, no more than the most-favored-nation price. The model would test whether, for patients who require pharmaceutical treatment, paying no more than the most-favored-nation price would mitigate poor clinical outcomes and increased expenditures associated with high drug costs.
Sec. 4. Payment Model on the Most-Favored-Nation Price in Medicare Part D. To the extent consistent with law, the Secretary shall take appropriate steps to develop and implement a rulemaking plan, selecting for testing, consistent with section 1315a(b)(2)(A) of title 42, United States Code, a payment model pursuant to which Medicare would pay, for Part D prescription drugs or biological products where insufficient competition exists and seniors are faced with prices above those in OECD member countries that have a comparable per-capita gross domestic product to the United States, after adjusting for volume and differences in national gross domestic product, no more than the most-favored-nation price, to the extent feasible. The model should test whether, for patients who require pharmaceutical treatment, paying no more than the most-favored-nation price would mitigate poor clinical outcomes and increased expenditures associated with high drug costs.
Sec. 5. Revocation of Executive Order. The Executive Order of July 24, 2020 (Lowering Drug Prices by Putting America First), is revoked.
Sec. 6. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:
(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or the head thereof; or
(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.
(b) This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.
(c) This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person. back...
“I will protect you, I will defend you, and I will fight for you with every ounce of energy and conviction that I have,†President Trump said. “You devoted your life to this country, and I am devoting my life to you.â€
Average Medicare premiums have dropped by 34% since President Trump took office. Some states have experienced price reductions of over 50% or more. Medicare prescription drug prices have also declined, with premiums down 12% on average.
“I stood up to big pharma, and that’s not easy,†President Trump said. “They got big money. They’re the biggest lobbyists in this country, by far. And I signed an executive order implementing a ‘most favored nations’ policy for the United States,†which ensures that Medicare won’t pay more than other countries for important drugs.
After Coronavirus spread from China across the world, the Trump Administration went to work holding Beijing and the World Health Organization accountable for their failures while protecting the American people from both economic and physical harm.
“I’m moving heaven and earth to safeguard our seniors from the China Virus, to deliver lifesaving therapies in record time, and to distribute a safe and effective vaccine before the end of the year,†President Trump said.
“You’re the generation that defeated fascism and triumphed over communism, sent American astronauts to the Moon. You built our country into the greatest and most powerful nation the world has ever known.â€
Our seniors remind us of the extraordinary American legacy that President Trump is fighting to protect.
On September 13, 2020, President Trump issued the following Executive Order on Lowering Drug Prices:
Executive Order on Lowering Drug Prices by Putting America First
By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, it is hereby ordered as follows:
Section 1. Purpose. Americans pay more per capita for prescription drugs than residents of any other developed country in the world. 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. The Council of Economic Advisers has found that Americans finance much of the biopharmaceutical innovation that the world depends on, allowing foreign governments, many of which are the sole healthcare payers in their respective countries, to enjoy bargain prices for such innovations. Americans should not bear extra burdens to compensate for the shortfalls that result from the nationalized public healthcare systems of wealthy countries abroad.
In addition to being unfair, high drug prices in the United States also have serious economic and health consequences for patients in need of treatment. High prices cause Americans to divert too much of their scarce resources to pharmaceutical treatments and away from other productive uses. High prices are also a reason many patients skip doses of their medications, take less than the recommended doses, or abandon treatment altogether. The consequences of these behaviors can be severe. For example, patients may develop acute conditions that result in poor clinical outcomes or that require drastic and expensive medical interventions.
In most markets, the largest buyers pay the lowest prices, but this has not been true for prescription drugs. The Federal Government is the largest payer for prescription drugs in the world, but it pays more than many smaller buyers, including other developed nations. When the Federal Government purchases a drug covered by Medicare — the cost of which is shared by American seniors who take the drug and American taxpayers — it should insist on, at a minimum, the lowest price at which the manufacturer sells that drug to any other developed nation.
Sec. 2. Policy. (a) It is the policy of the United States that the Medicare program should not pay more for costly Part B or Part D prescription drugs or biological products than the most-favored-nation price.
(b) The “most-favored-nation price†shall mean the lowest price, after adjusting for volume and differences in national gross domestic product, for a pharmaceutical product that the drug manufacturer sells in a member country of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) that has a comparable per-capita gross domestic product.
Sec. 3. Payment Model on the Most-Favored-Nation Price in Medicare Part B. To the extent consistent with law, the Secretary of Health and Human Services shall immediately take appropriate steps to implement his rulemaking plan to test a payment model pursuant to which Medicare would pay, for certain high-cost prescription drugs and biological products covered by Medicare Part B, no more than the most-favored-nation price. The model would test whether, for patients who require pharmaceutical treatment, paying no more than the most-favored-nation price would mitigate poor clinical outcomes and increased expenditures associated with high drug costs.
Sec. 4. Payment Model on the Most-Favored-Nation Price in Medicare Part D. To the extent consistent with law, the Secretary shall take appropriate steps to develop and implement a rulemaking plan, selecting for testing, consistent with section 1315a(b)(2)(A) of title 42, United States Code, a payment model pursuant to which Medicare would pay, for Part D prescription drugs or biological products where insufficient competition exists and seniors are faced with prices above those in OECD member countries that have a comparable per-capita gross domestic product to the United States, after adjusting for volume and differences in national gross domestic product, no more than the most-favored-nation price, to the extent feasible. The model should test whether, for patients who require pharmaceutical treatment, paying no more than the most-favored-nation price would mitigate poor clinical outcomes and increased expenditures associated with high drug costs.
Sec. 5. Revocation of Executive Order. The Executive Order of July 24, 2020 (Lowering Drug Prices by Putting America First), is revoked.
Sec. 6. General Provisions. (a) Nothing in this order shall be construed to impair or otherwise affect:
(i) the authority granted by law to an executive department or agency, or the head thereof; or
(ii) the functions of the Director of the Office of Management and Budget relating to budgetary, administrative, or legislative proposals.
(b) This order shall be implemented consistent with applicable law and subject to the availability of appropriations.
(c) This order is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person. back...
