United States President, Donald Trump, on Thursday announced the launch of a new federal website for prescription medications, claiming the initiative will allow Americans to pay “the world’s lowest prices” for drugs.
Speaking at the White House, Trump said that beginning Thursday, dozens of widely used prescription medicines will be offered at “dramatic discounts” through the newly launched TrumpRx.gov platform.
The initiative is based on a “most-favored-nation” pricing approach, under which the United States would align its drug prices with the lowest amounts paid by any other country.
“We’re taking the lowest price paid for drugs, and we will pay equal to whatever the lowest price anywhere in the world,” Trump said, describing the policy as a “tremendous reduction” for consumers in the US.
“Drug prices in other nations will go up by doing this, they had to agree. And the reason they agreed is I used tariffs. I said, ‘If you don’t put them up, then we’re going to put tariffs on your nation, which will be more expensive to you’,” he said.
Trump also said that popular weight-loss medications, including GLP-1 drugs, would be subject to significant price reductions, pointing to Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic as an example.
Dr. Mehmet Oz, administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), who also addressed the gathering, said the program would help shield vulnerable Americans from the burden of unaffordable prescription drug costs.
