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President Donald Trump's bold executive order on drug pricing isn't just policy—it's a revolution in healthcare affordability. The plan is simple yet transformative: ensure Americans pay no more for medications than citizens of other wealthy nations.
Consider this stark reality: a GLP-1 drug costing $88 in London commands $1,000 in the United States. Even after manufacturer discounts to insurers, Americans still pay over $400—for the identical medication, from the same company, produced in the same facility. This disparity is especially galling when pharmaceutical companies extract 70% of their profits from America—a nation representing just 4% of the world's population. This global free-riding on American patients ends now.
Industry leaders recognize this imbalance. I've already engaged with CEOs from four major American pharmaceutical companies and a foreign manufacturer eager to relocate to the U.S. Their response has been encouraging, but we're prepared to act decisively if necessary. U.S. Health and Human Services and Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) possess the statutory authority to deliver on President Trump’s commitment: other developed nations must pay more, so Americans can pay less, thus preserving the innovation pipeline.
PRESIDENT TRUMP TAKES ON 'BIG PHARMA' BY SIGNING EXECUTIVE ORDER TO LOWER DRUG PRICES
Americans deserve both groundbreaking therapies and affordable access to them. Yet according to the Kaiser Family Foundation, nearly one-third of patients skip prescribed medications due to cost—an unacceptable reality in the world's wealthiest nation.
While prevention through healthier lifestyles remains our best strategy for reducing medication dependence, certain treatments will always be essential. The pharmaceutical industry has delivered remarkable advancements in cancer and autoimmune therapies that benefit patients worldwide.
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We value continued innovation as a core American principle, but we cannot indefinitely subsidize global medical progress while other wealthy nations contribute disproportionately little.
President Donald Trump, accompanied by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., left, speaks during a swearing in ceremony for Dr. Mehmet Oz as the Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator in the Oval Office at the White House on April 18. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
President Trump's negotiation approach has already proven effective with NATO, where European countries responded to accountability by making historic reinvestments that strengthened the alliance. The same principle applies here. The President and I stand united: global free riding on American patients must end.
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CMS, with Dr. Mehmet Oz at the helm, extends beyond payment reform to fundamentally realigning care delivery incentives. This initiative will protect safety nets for vulnerable populations while addressing the financial pressures facing state partners and federal programs—particularly Medicaid, which has seen dramatic growth in both enrollment and costs.
The coming months will be decisive in achieving President Trump's prescription for a healthier America—one where innovation thrives, and patients no longer shoulder an unfair share of the global healthcare burden.
