WASHINGTON — President Trump said Friday that all 50 states, along with Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C., have joined his “most favored nations” drug-pricing initiative, which aims to reduce prescription costs for Medicaid recipients.
Trump said 26 major pharmaceutical companies had been pressured into offering federal agencies prices comparable to those paid in eight other high-income countries, including Canada, Germany, Japan and the United Kingdom.
“They all succumbed to the dollar,” Trump said, describing the states and territories that signed onto what he called his “GENEROUS” initiative. The savings will be passed to state-administered Medicaid programs serving approximately 70 million Americans.
Speaking in the Oval Office, Trump said the plan would save states billions of dollars annually, allowing them to redirect the money toward better health care and improved services. “I mean, this one thing alone should win us the midterm,” he said.
“Many left-wing critics predicted that the states would not participate in our most favored nation initiative, and some of the blue states tried not to, but they couldn’t help it when you’re getting your drugs for 70, 80, 90% less,” Trump said.
Trump pointed to an estimate from the White House Council of Economic Advisers that the initiative would save state Medicaid programs $64 billion over the next 10 years.
The White House projects that the broader most-favored-nations initiative will generate $529 billion in government savings over the same decade.
Pharmaceutical companies also agreed to provide discounts on certain medications for uninsured Americans through the new “TrumpRx” platform.
“We are rescuing state budgets with this program,” said Dr. Mehmet Oz, the nation’s Medicare and Medicaid administrator.
Oz said the roughly $50 billion states spend on pharmaceutical prices after rebates is squeezing funding for schools, roads, long-term care and rural health care.
Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a former Democrat, said the initiative reflected priorities that “my party was promising and prioritizing for decades.”
“Every nation is judged, every civilization is judged based upon how it cares for the poorest members of society,” Kennedy said. He echoed Trump’s claim that poverty levels have fallen to their lowest point in history during the president’s term.
“That was the signature imperative for our party, and yet President Trump has actually achieved that in two short years, and now he’s creating another giant benefit for the poorest members of our society,” Kennedy said.
