Trump's Medicare medication prize is expected to urge drug manufacturers to burden themselves in other countries as in other countries

President Donald Trump will announce a plan to reduce the prescription medication costs in the United States by summarizing the amount that the government paid for some medication for the prices paid abroad, according to a administrative officer familiar with the matter – a strategy that he had unsuccessfully pursued during his first term.

Trump is expected to sign an executive regulation early next week in which the federal health officials will be used by a “most preferred nation” price model for certain medication that is covered by Medicare. This means that the United States would not pay more than the lowest prices paid by other wealthy countries, said the civil servant who was granted anonymity because they were not authorized to describe internal considerations.

The plan for signing the Executive Ordinance was first reported by Politico.

The prices for prescription drugs in the United States are notoriously higher than in other countries – up to 10 – more than in other countries with a similar size and assets, according to the Rand Corporation, a thinking factory for public politics.

Trump initially tried to implement this guideline in 2020 as part of a broader effort of his government, to reduce the US drug costs, but was hired by a federal judge for a lawsuit from the drug industry.

The plan would have associated the prices of Medicare Part B medication -with medication that was administered in a health facility such as chemotherapy medication, with countries such as Canada, Germany and Great Britain.

The administration then It would be estimated to save US taxpayers more than 85 billion US dollars over seven years.

It is unclear whether Trump's new plan is once again targeting Medicare part B medication or involving other drugs that are treated under the program.

The administrative officer said the proposal was not completed and could still change. The White House did not respond to a request for comments.

Experts in health policy supported Trump's approach and argued that pharmaceutical companies should be forced to meet the prices that they give to other countries.

“I do not see an excuse for why prices should be everywhere and we are most charged,” said Arthur Caplan, head of the Department of Medical Ethics at the NYU Langone Medical Center in New York City. “If this can do something about a clear emergency, which the constantly increasing drug costs are as an important source of inflation, I'm for it.”

However, experts also doubt that the new politics would withstand the setback of the drug industry.

“I am not sure whether the new executive order will do better,” said Stacie Dusetzina, Professor of Health Policy at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee.

Tricia Neuman, Executive Director of the Medicare Policy program at KFF, a research group for health policy, said that it would probably have public support if they are implemented.

More than 3 out of 4 adults in the USA say that the costs for medication are unaffordable according to a KFF survey.

“The idea of ​​ensuring that the United States does not pay more than similar country surveys, but it is controversial and will probably be exposed to violent oppositions in the pharmaceutical industry,” said Neuman.

In an explanation, Alex Schriver, spokesman for pharmaceutical research and manufacturer of America, said the trade group of the drug industry, which had submitted the lawsuit against Trump's original drug price rule that the Trump management should instead concentrate on so-called pharmacy performance managers in order to address high medicinal products.

PBMS, also known as an intermediary, work with insurance companies to negotiate reduced prices of pharmaceutical companies in order to include drugs in their insurance protection. In theory, PBM's patients are supposed to save money, but they were the goal of US legislators after accusing the state results to inflate the price of drugs.

Caplan found that the administration also has another instrument available, even if the drug industry pushes back the executive regulation: Medicare -drug price negotiations.

Medicare, which is signed by President Joe Biden by the Law on Inflation Reduction Act, enables Medicare to negotiate prices for the most expensive medication.

The first round of negotiations will be estimated to save Medicare in 2026 in the amount of $ 6 billion when prices come into force.

In the last few days of the bidges, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced the next drug round for price negotiations. It is unclear whether the Trump government pursues the negotiations.

Caplan said the administration should support both guidelines.

“This is a walk and chewing gum at the same time,” he said. “You can pursue these price differences and decide the least costly comparable price.”

Last month, CMS declined a proposal from the bid era for Medicare to cover weight loss medication. The move would have saved patients money, but the government cost about 25 billion US dollars for over 10 years.