Trump promised big savings for Americans with his latest move — but experts have a major concern
One of the biggest promises that US President Donald Trump made to the people was that he would bring down the prices of prescription drugs through Trump Rx. Americans pay a ton of money for medication, especially if it is not included in their insurance plan. In a bid to tackle this issue, the President recently launched a new prescription drug website, TrumpRx.gov. The website is supposed to focus on massive discounts that the government has negotiated with several companies.
The President cut deals with 16 of the world’s largest drug manufacturers who would offer significant discounts in exchange for tariff cuts to their products. However, so far, only five out of the 16 have implemented such discounts or have even listed their products on the website. The White House said that more prescription drugs would be made available in the coming months, as per a Reuters report.
While having access to cheap medication would be a big deal for millions of Americans, there are not many products to choose from on Trump’s website. The discounts are on fewer than 45 drugs, and more than 30 of them are from a single manufacturer, Pfizer. What’s worse is that a significant number of the drugs sold on the site already have cheaper alternatives on the market. While some drugs have been made cheaper, experts believe that people would be better off getting their medication as they usually did.
"A small proportion of people may be able to find a better deal on their medicines. For most people in the US, they are likely to be better off paying for their medicines with their health insurance and not using TrumpRx, assuming the drug they need is covered by their plan,” Stacie Dusetzina, professor of Health Policy at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, said.
While the discounts on Trump’s website can range from 33% to over 90%, the prices of certain drugs were already so high that even at a discount, it is simply not something that Americans would be able to afford regularly. One such example is the Pfizer rheumatoid arthritis medication Xeljanz, which costs more than $1,500 per month despite a hefty discount.
Popular GLP-1 weight-loss drugs have seen their prices slashed to as low as $149 a month and around $350 a month, on average, from more than $1,000 a month. This will help those who have to purchase the product outside of their insurance. The fertility drug, Gonal-F, has also seen its price slashed by 83% to $168.
"These groups of drugs are generally not well covered by insurance. But paying $200 a month for Ozempic, for example, is still a lot of money for a lot of people ... these prices may still represent a price tag that's too much,” Juliette Cubanski, deputy director for Medicare policy at health-policy organization KFF, said.
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