Trump announces he’ll sign executive order that aims to cut drug prices

President Donald Trump announced Sunday that he plans to resurrect a controversial policy from his first term that aims to reduce drug costs by basing payments for certain medicines on their prices in other countries.

President Donald Trump announced Sunday that he plans to resurrect a controversial policy from his first term that aims to reduce drug costs by basing payments for certain medicines on their prices in other countries. His prior rule, called “Most Favored Nation,” was finalized in late 2020 but blocked by federal courts and rescinded by then-President Joe Biden in 2021. It would have applied to Medicare payments for certain drugs administered in doctors’ offices. However, it is unclear what payments or drugs the new directive would apply to. In a Truth Social post Sunday evening, Trump said he plans to sign an executive order Monday morning that he argues would drastically lower drug prices. “I will be signing one of the most consequential Executive Orders in our Country’s history. Prescription Drug and Pharmaceutical prices will be REDUCED, almost immediately, by 30% to 80%,” he wrote. “I will be instituting a MOST FAVORED NATION’S POLICY whereby the United States will pay the same price as the Nation that pays the lowest price anywhere in the World.” The directive comes as the Trump administration is also looking to impose tariffs on pharmaceutical imports, which had been exempted from such levies enacted during the president’s first term. The tariffs could exacerbate shortages of certain drugs, particularly generic medicines, and eventually raise prices. If the new executive order is comparable to the 2020 rule, both Medicare and its beneficiaries could see savings. But it could also limit patients’ access to medications, experts said. Much depends on how the policy is structured.