Protect Trump’s Fight to Deliver Relief at the Pharmacy

In the last month, President Trump has introduced executive orders to address rising pharmaceutical costs and give Americans some relief when they pick up their prescriptions. Just recently, Trump directed his aides to pursue an initiative to dramatically slash the price of prescription drugs by tying the cost of medications to the lower prices paid in other countries – a much-needed change that would put America first and stop big pharma from gouging consumers. But more needs to be done in Congress to help him accomplish this goal.

President Trump has long been one of our country’s strongest warriors against the pharmaceutical industry. At a campaign stop in New Hampshire during his first campaign in early 2016, he asked the crowd why Medicare doesn’t negotiate drug prices. He then said, ‘We don’t do it. Why? Because of the drug companies.’ In his second term, he’s already taken steps to slash the outrageous markups drug makers force Americans to pay for their medications. Now, he has the opportunity to supercharge his agenda and stop big pharma from ripping Americans off..

Through the last four years, the Biden administration forced Americans to deal with higher prices and weak leadership. But through all of his mistakes and mishandling of seemingly every situation that presented itself, he did leave President Trump with one helpful tool. The 2022 Inflation Reduction Act, which codified Medicare’s negotiation authority. This new authority for Medicare has proven to be an effective cost-saving measure that will benefit millions of Americans.

What Joe Biden began, but failed to finish, Donald Trump should accelerate. With him being back in the White House, he can truly demonstrate the art of the deal on an issue that is top of mind for millions of Americans.

But progress is not without its roadblocks. Recently, Members of Congress introduced a bill that would kneecap President Trump’s negotiation powers. Currently, prescription drugs are eligible for negotiation after 9 years on the market. The Ensuring Pathways to Innovative Cures (EPIC) Act will lengthen that wait time to 13 years.

If this bill becomes law, nearly half of the medications that are slated to be subject to negotiations over the next two years would become ineligible, which would force patients to pay exorbitant prices to get their medications, weaken President Trump’s hand in negotiation, and kick the can down the road.

The EPIC Act would completely limit Medicare’s ability to reel in the high prices that are weighing down Americans, and it would be especially harmful for retired folks, many of whom live on fixed incomes. It would also be a huge gift to the pharmaceutical industry, allowing them to set prices for four more years when patients desperately need lower prices now. This bill is nothing more than a massive handout to big pharma.

Medicare’s new ability to negotiate has already proven to be a massive win for the American people, and will save patients billions of dollars long term. If the first 10 negotiated drug prices were in effect in 2023, it would have lowered government spending on Medicare Part D plans by 22 percent, while also creating significant savings for people enrolled in Part D.

Further delays to drug price negotiation massively undercut President Trump’s ability to deliver results and go against his stated goal of rooting out waste in the government. The Congressional Budget Office estimated that Medicare negotiation would save $100 billion over the next 10 years, and with President Trump leading the way, we could see that number climb even higher.

Congress needs to act on behalf of the American people, not big pharma. President Trump was given a mandate to lead on this issue. It’s time for Congress to support him and get prescription drug costs down for the millions of Americans depending on them.