Discussion
A little bit of actual winning:
The executive order "Lowering Drug Prices by Once Again Putting Americans First" signed by President Donald Trump on April 15, 2025, introduces several legal changes aimed at reducing prescription drug prices in the United States. Here are the key changes:
1. **State Importation of Medicines**: The order directs the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to allow more states to import medicines directly from countries with lower prices. This measure aims to increase competition and reduce costs for American consumers.
2. **Improved Price Negotiations**: The order seeks to enhance the process for price negotiations, particularly for Medicare, the federal health insurance program for seniors. It modifies the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) to eliminate disparities between price negotiation rules for pills and injectable drugs, fostering a more competitive market.
3. **Generic Drug Approval**: The order instructs federal agencies to simplify the approval process for generic drugs. This is intended to increase competition among manufacturers and potentially lower drug prices.
4. **Medicare Negotiations**: The order explores the possibility of negotiating certain Medicare drug prices at the reduced rates available to hospitals. However, it does not implement the "most favored nation" status, which would have required pharmaceutical companies to offer their lowest prices in the U.S.
These changes are designed to provide relief to seniors and low-income individuals who rely on prescription drugs. If the order is carried out exactly as written, this will in fact improve prices significantly by lowering the artificially high price demand by Medicare negotiations and increasing supply and permitting competitive alternatives from within the U.S. and from abroad, which even allows a modicum of competition between regulatory regimes.