A New Approach to Lowering Drug Costs for Ohioans

Washington, D.C.—The America First Policy Institute (AFPI) offered the following statement from Hannah Anderson, Senior Director of Policy and Director of Healthy America, regarding President Trump’s visit to Cincinnati, Ohio to highlight efforts to lower prescription drug costs.

“For families living in Ohio, the cost of healthcare is not a complex policy debate, but something that comes down to kitchen table math. The typical household in Ohio earns about $67,000 annually, yet nearly one in five Ohioans already spend more than 10 percent of their income on healthcare. At the same time, healthcare spending continues to rise, recently increasing 7.5 percent in a single year putting an even greater financial pressure on working families.

The math gets even harder for families when they have to pay high deductibles before their insurance even begins to kick in. In Ohio, the average deductible for an individual is more than $2,100 and for a family it is over $3,886, meaning families must pay thousands of dollars out of pocket before insurance will cover their doctor’s visits or prescriptions. To make matters worse, patients are the last to know how much their prescription will cost until they get to the pharmacy counter, leaving many with no choice but to delay or skip filling the medications they desperately need. Ohioans shouldn’t have to choose between picking up a prescription or paying their bills, yet too many families know this situation all too well.

Because of this, President Trump has fought to relieve the financial burden off the American people and push for greater transparency and Most Favored Nation pricing to disrupt the broken system. Through TrumpRx, Americans can now see the price of their medication upfront and access discounts without middlemen in the way, with coupons already available for dozens of prescription drugs and more expected as the program expands.

For Ohio families, where nearly half of the population is enrolled in a high-deductible plan, programs like TrumpRx, which cut drug prices by 50 to 90 percent, can put money back in their pockets. For example, a prescription that usually costs more than $1,300 can be purchased for $149 with TrumpRx, saving families thousands of dollars at the pharmacy counter. By providing upfront pricing and cutting out the middlemen, President Trump is making healthcare more affordable and transparent for Ohio, giving them the opportunity to take control over their healthcare dollars.”