The rational way to approach high drug prices in the United States begins with identifying the real causes. Unlike most developed countries, the U.S. does not negotiate drug prices at the federal level for the majority of medications. This gives pharmaceutical companies the power to charge based on market tolerance rather than the actual cost of development or production. Patent protections, lack of generic competition, and the influence of pharmacy benefit managers all contribute to inflated prices. Trump’s “Most Favored Nation” proposal, which aimed to tie U.S. drug prices to the lowest prices paid by other developed nations, acknowledged the problem but failed to deliver a workable solution. In 2020, during his reelection campaign, Trump signed a series of executive orders targeting prescription drug prices, including the Most Favored Nation policy. However, the plan was hastily assembled, lacked bipartisan support, and was blocked in court after facing lawsuits from the pharmaceutical industry. It never took effect. The timing of its announcement, just months before the election, raised legitimate concerns about whether it was a serious policy effort or simply a political maneuver aimed at winning support.
While the concept of international price benchmarking can be useful, it cannot function in a vacuum. A meaningful and rational policy must include structural reforms across the entire pharmaceutical system. This includes allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices broadly, not just for a select group of medications. It also requires capping out-of-pocket costs for consumers, cracking down on pay-for-delay tactics that block generics, increasing pricing transparency, and accelerating the approval of cheaper alternatives like generics and biosimilars. Any serious plan must also take on the lobbying power of pharmaceutical companies and pharmacy benefit managers. Trump’s executive action may have sounded bold, but in practice, it was symbolic and legally unsound. Fixing this crisis demands deliberate legislation, real enforcement, and the political will to stand up to an industry that has spent decades influencing Washington. Anything short of that is just posturing.
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Thomas Mix For Congress
@FL8ThomasMix
Claim 1: Prescription drugs in the U.S. cost 5 to 10 times more than in other countries.
Partially True.
• U.S. drug prices are significantly higher than in most developed nations.
• On average, Americans pay 2 to 4 times more, not always 5 to 10 times.
• Example: Insulin, x.com/kobeissiletter…
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