Trump Targets Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Revamp

U.S. President Donald Trump instructed the health department to collaborate with Congress on modifying Medicare's drug pricing negotiation law. His executive order attempts to reduce healthcare costs, countering drugmakers' lobbying efforts to delay negotiations, and aligns drug payments with hospitals while promoting drug importation and generic competition.

In a strategic move to reshape the landscape of prescription drug pricing, U.S. President Donald Trump has directed the country's health department to work in tandem with Congress to overhaul the law permitting Medicare to negotiate drug prices. This initiative comes as part of an executive order aimed at curbing healthcare costs amid pharmaceutical industry resistance.

Drug manufacturers have lobbied to extend the timeline for price negotiations by four years for small molecule drugs, predominantly pills. Trump's order intends to align these negotiations with the 13-year period already applicable to complex biotech drugs, marking a significant shift in policy for Medicare, which serves 66 million Americans.

The order also seeks to bring Medicare and hospital drug payments in line while standardizing patient payment rates nationally. Further directives include promoting drug importation from states like Florida and expediting approvals for affordable generics, signaling a comprehensive strategy to tackle drug costs.

(With inputs from agencies.)