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President Doanld Trump signs executive order to slash drug costs

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President Donald Trump is moving forward with a plan that is intended to dramatically slash drug costs after talks broke down with the pharmaceutical industry’s major lobby. ~

President Trump tweeted Sunday that he signed a new executive order for a “most favored nations” plan. The president had signed a version of the directive more than a month ago but said he would hold it so the industry could come up with an alternative. ~

Under the “Most Favored Nation” order, the government’s Medicare program would pay drugmakers the lowest price paid by any country in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development with a gross domestic product comparable to the United States. The secretary of health and human services would first test how the approach would work for both drugs administered in a doctor’s office (through Medicare Part B) and those sold at pharmacies (through Medicare Part D) “where insufficient competition exists” and seniors pay more than OECD-member countries. ~

Trump also signed four executive orders in July targeting drug prices but held off on implementing them until after meeting with pharmaceutical executives to present their ideas for how to make medicines more affordable. However, pharmaceutical companies reportedly refused to meet with the president and talks between PhRMA and the White House broke down last week, according to two lobbyists (MSN). ~

As the order reads, “It is unacceptable that Americans pay more for the exact same drugs, often made in the exact same places. Other countries’ governments regulate drug prices by negotiating with drug manufacturers to secure bargain prices, leaving Americans to make up the difference — effectively subsidizing innovation and lower-cost drugs for the rest of the world.” Stephen Ubl, president and CEO of Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, quickly attacked the executive order as “an irresponsible and unworkable policy that will give foreign governments a say in how America provides access to treatments and cures for seniors and people struggling with devastating diseases.” ~

ARTICLE: CARSON CHOATE

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