Trump Puts Seniors First By Making Drugs Affordable Again

Originally published by the Washington Examiner

For decades, the United States has led the world in developing groundbreaking medications that allow patients to live longer and healthier lives. Despite these contributions, American families pay substantially higher prices for these breakthroughs than patients in any other country. The Trump administration just announced a major new policy to ensure seniors with chronic conditions can access the medications they need at their lowest global price.

In December, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced the creation of a new Medicare pilot program, the Global Benchmark for Efficient Drug Pricing Model, to ensure millions of seniors pay the same low price for prescription drugs as individuals in other wealthy countries. Under this program, millions of Medicare enrollees who purchase brand-name drugs for conditions such as cancer, autoimmune disease, and rheumatoid arthritis will be able to buy them at the same low cost as other prosperous countries. If drug manufacturers fail to charge these selected Medicare enrollees the lower international price, they will have to repay the difference to Medicare in the form of a rebate.

This reform addresses the long-standing practices that raise U.S. drug prices and threaten the health of sick Americans. On average, patients in the U.S. pay 4.22 times higher prices for brand-name drugs than individuals in other advanced countries. Drug manufacturers charge Americans high prices to recoup their investments in inventing and developing these life-saving medications. However, other countries shirk their responsibility to pay the necessary costs of drug development by imposing price controls on medicines. In 2018 alone, foreign price controls handed $254 billion in drug discounts to other wealthy countries.

Patients abroad get sweetheart deals from drug manufacturers, while Americans get steep prices.

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