Jubilee Post News & Views
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In what is being said as a historic act in the US the president Donald trump has signed four executive orders aimed at lowering prescription drug prices.
At a White House ceremony, Trump laid out his plan. He had previously proposed them but this is the first time they made it into signed executive orders. While one order is about importation, others would direct drug maker rebates straight patients and provide insulin and EpiPens at steep discounts to low-income people.
The measures would allow discounts and import of cheaper drugs from abroad. Addressing the White House ceremony, Trump said that he now ‘unwilling’ to wait any longer. He added that he is taking action in his own and pledging that the actions will lead to ‘massive reductions in drug costs’. Further, he said that the new executive orders will work to bridge the inequity between what Americans pay compared with citizens of other countries.
Trump said, we pay for all of the research and all of the development and foreign countries pay absolutely nothing and our consumer gets charged.
Out of the four orders signed, one of the orders would now allow for the legal importation of cheaper prescription drugs from countries like China. Another order would require discounts from drug companies now captured by middlemen to be passed on to patients.
Furthermore, another order seeks to lower insulin costs, while the fourth, which may not be implemented if talks with drug companies are successful, would require Medicare to purchase drugs at the same price that other countries pay.
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President Trump’s administration has been criticised for its response for the worsening Covid-19 crises, as the number of confirmed virus-related deaths in America has now topped 145,000. Since taking office, Trump has made repeated attacks against those who set drug prices and has pledged to take radical steps to reduce them.
But with the presidential election just several months away, industry experts have voiced doubts that any major decisions could come into force before the 3 November vote.
Trump, in his first term, had promised to tackle drug prices, however, the will to address the issue appeared to have faded away. Nearly four years later, Trump’s order to slash drug prices comes amid coronavirus pandemic, which has only exacerbated the need for prescription drug reforms.
It is also believed that Trump’s latest move comes as the election nears and Democrats have been hammering Republicans on the issue of health care, particularly a Trump-backed lawsuit to overturn the Affordable Care Act.
