A few days after he sent the letter Instructions from top pharmaceutical manufacturers President Donald Trump to use the “most preferred country” pricing model for prescription drugs He told reporters On Sunday, he showed he cut costs by up to 1,500%.
But Trump’s grand argument is mathematically impossible.
Let’s take a closer look at the facts.
Trump: “You know, we’ve reduced drug prices by 1,200, 1,300, 1,400, 1,500%. It doesn’t mean 50%. It means 14-1,500%.”
Fact: This is wrong. Reducing drug prices by more than 100% means that people are being paid to take the drug. The Trump administration has taken steps to lower prescription drug prices, but experts say there is no indication cost to see such a big drop.
Jeffrey Joyce, director of health policy at the University of Southern California Schaeffer Center, called Trump’s claims “full fiction” composed of Republican presidents. He agreed that it amounts to a company that pays customers rather than otherwise.
“We’ve seen a lot of people who have a lot of trouble with their health policy and management,” said Mariana Socal, an associate professor of health policy and management at Johns Hopkins University, who studies the US drug market. She added that Trump’s mathematics is “really hard to follow.”
Asked what Trump is using to support his point, White House spokesman Kush Desai said:
The White House provided a chart of drug price differences in the US and comparable countries, but did not provide any other evidence. On Sunday, Trump also described drug prices reductions as a future development, but that had not happened.
“So we’re going to lower the drug prices,” he said. “It will start at 1,200, 1,300 and even 1,400% over the next two or three months.”
Most prescription drug prices – the exception to non-branded generics – are higher in the US than in other high-income countries. This is largely due to How to negotiate drug prices in the US.
Trump made him Latest attractions In a letter to 17 pharmaceutical manufacturers, the White House announced last week. He asked to cut costs in the US by matching the lowest prices for prescription drugs in other comparable developed countries. Some drug makers Since then, they have shown It’s open Reduce costs.
This move follows Presidential Order Trump Signed in May Drugmakers choose US prices or set a 30-day deadline where they face new restrictions in the future than what the government pays.
The federal government has the greatest power to shape the price that Medicare and Medicaid pay for drugs covered. It is unclear what the Trump administration’s efforts will affect millions of Americans who have private health insurance.
SoCal pointed out that if drugmakers cut costs to the extent Trump claims, they would scream it off the roof, especially given the heat that has been taken over the years due to pricing practices.
“My hope is that they make an announcement, a public announcement, and those announcements will come before the actual effective date when those price reductions come into effect,” she said.
Joyce agreed there were no signs of substantial reductions.
“Not at all, not at all, not at all,” he said. “And not to mention 1,500 people.”
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