White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Thursday that Donald Trump has sent letters to 17 pharmaceutical company CEOs urging them to lower prescription drug prices and warning the administration would use âevery toolâ available to enforce reductions.
Leavitt read from a letter addressed to David Ricks, chief executive of Eli Lilly, in which Trump pledged to end what he described as âglobal freeloadingâ on American pharmaceutical innovation. The letters referenced an executive order issued in May aimed at reducing drug prices by as much as 30% to 80%.âTrumpâs message gave drugmakers 60 days to take action, urging them to extend âmost favored nationâ pricing to Medicaid, apply similar pricing to newly launched drugs, and return increased revenues earned abroad to American patients and taxpayers. The proposal also called for direct government purchasing of medicines at those lower benchmark prices.
The order directed the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to establish pricing targets, but negotiations with the pharmaceutical industry have so far fallen short of the administrationâs expectations.âIndustry representatives, including officials from Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, warned that aggressive price controls could reduce investment in drug research and development. Policy analysts also note that the president may face legal and regulatory limits in attempting to mandate âmost favored nationâ pricing across federal health programs.
