Trump to Sign Executive Order Slashing Prescription Drug Prices by Up to 80%

President Donald Trump announced plans to sign an executive order on Monday aimed at dramatically reducing the cost of prescription drugs in the United States — a move he claims will slash prices by 30% to 80% “almost immediately,”Fox News reports.

In a post on Truth Social Sunday, Trump decried the long-standing disparity in global drug pricing and vowed to level the playing field for American consumers.

“For many years the world has wondered why prescription drugs and pharmaceuticals in the United States were so much higher in price than they were in any other nation,” Trump wrote. “It was always difficult to explain and very embarrassing because, in fact, there was no correct or rightful answer.”

The former president accused pharmaceutical companies of justifying inflated U.S. prices with research and development costs, while unfairly burdening American patients. “Campaign contributions can do wonders,” he added, “but not with me, and not with the Republican Party.”

Trump said the executive order will implement a “Most Favored Nation” policy that ensures the U.S. pays no more than the lowest price charged for a drug anywhere in the world. He predicted the policy would not only lower domestic healthcare costs but also save the federal government trillions of dollars over time.

“We are going to do the right thing — something that the Democrats have fought for many years,” Trump stated. “Prescription drug and pharmaceutical prices will be REDUCED, almost immediately, by 30% to 80%.”

The White House previously noted that the global cost of certain medications may rise in response, but Trump emphasized that “for the first time in many years, it will bring fairness to America.”

This new directive follows an earlier executive order signed by Trump last month, which standardized Medicare payment rates for drugs across treatment settings. According to a White House fact sheet, the policy could reduce costs for some cancer treatments by as much as 60%.

Additionally, the latest order includes provisions to reduce the cost of insulin to as low as 3 cents per dose for low-income or uninsured individuals, and to cap the price of injectable epinephrine — used to treat severe allergic reactions — at $15, plus a small administrative fee.

Other elements of the order aim to facilitate state-run drug importation programs and expand Medicaid access to discounted treatments for diseases like sickle cell anemia. It also instructs the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), under Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., to gather public input on Medicare drug price negotiations, a program authorized under the Inflation Reduction Act.

According to HHS data, prescription drug prices in the U.S. rose over 15% between January 2022 and January 2023, with the average cost per product reaching $590. Nearly half of those increases exceeded the rate of inflation.

Trump called the executive order “one of the most consequential” in U.S. history and said the changes would mark a turning point in making healthcare more affordable for millions of Americans.