President Trump’s executive order won’t lower drug prices

President Trump finally issued his fourth prescription drug executive order, related to pricing drugs at the average of what other wealthy countries pay. Much like his first three executive orders, it does precious little. While it appears to take on high drug costs, the executive order language is so weak that it is not likely to lower drug prices.

While the executive order applies to drugs administered in a physician’s office as well as those purchased at a pharmacy, it targets a small number of drugs. It only applies to “some high-cost drugs and biological products.” Moreover, the executive order is only to “test” the value of pricing these drugs at a price similar to other wealthy countries.

The executive order does not try to regulate the price of drugs developed with federal research or funding. In short, President Trump has not acted to lower or even freeze prescription drug prices, although he has promised to do so. And, he has said nothing about pharmaceutical company drug price hikes, which are happening.

For example, Noam Levy reports for the LA times that AstraZeneca has exercised its monopoly pricing power to hike up its prices dramatically this year. AstraZeneca’s drug prices have risen far faster than inflation, up as much as six percent when inflation is at about one percent. At the same time, it has benefited from $1.2 billion in taxpayer dollars to develop a COVID-19 vaccine.

AstraZeneca is not alone. Many other pharmaceutical companies have raised the prices of some of their best-selling drugs far more than inflation. AbbVie raised the price of Humira by 7.4 percent, along with the price of other drugs. GlaxoSmithKline also raised some drug prices significantly.

The leaders of other wealthy nations ensure medicines are affordable for everyone by negotiating prescription drug prices. President Trump has not even required the pharmaceutical companies that received hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollar to develop a COVID-19 vaccine to commit to charging a fair price for their vaccine. How many millions of Americans will end up without a vaccine and remain at high risk for getting COVID-19 because of the vaccine’s cost?

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