Facts first: It is not true that Trump’s measures for beneficiary nations and cuts bring prices down now – especially since they have not yet gone into effect. And whether drug prices will be cut by half or more in the future is difficult to predict.
High drug prices have long been one of America’s most important complaints for health care, and Trump has long promised to do something about it. His administration published in May 2018 a blueprint of 44 pages of his vision, although most of the measures remain on paper only.
Trump has claimed victory in lowering prices in the past, although the data assessing the allegation was shaky. During his address to the Union in February, he listened back to a statistic he had mentioned the year before – that the cost of prescription medication fell for the first time in 51 years. The president cited the 12-month change in the consumer price index for prescription drugs for December 2018. However, the data is jumping around. Last month, it was up 1.7%.
It is surprisingly difficult to answer whether drug prices stand and by how much. There are many measures, but few, if any, that cover the full range of medications, which include generic medicines, brand name and specialty medicines, and treat those given in a hospital or doctor’s office. and those bought at the pharmacy. It also prescribes the list price of the medicine and the net price, taking into account various discounts.
Here’s one way to look at the problem – through the lens of brand names for drugs, which make up only about 10% of the written prescriptions, but spend 80% of the dollars. While list prices for drug names are still growing, the rate of growth for at least the past four years has decreased, according to SSR Health, which is recording price changes for about 1,000 brand-name medicines.
A similar trend occurs when one examines the list prices of both brand name and less expensive generic medicines. GoodRx, which tracks several thousand brand names and generic drugs, found that in the first six months of this year, manufacturers won prices on 857 drugs by an average of 6.8%. That compares to 933 medications that increased an average of 7% over the same period last year, according to the website, which provides cost comparisons and discounts on consumers. The number of drugs and rate of price growth also slowed between 2015 and 2019.
Executive orders
Trump said at the signing that he will hold to the order until Aug. 24 to give drugmakers time to present their cost-cutting ideas. But a scheduled meeting at the White House in late July never took place, and it remains to be seen what Trump will do with the measure.
The administration had to turn down this effort last summer, in part because it would likely have increased Medicare premiums.
Industry groups are fighting back
Industry groups, including those representing drug manufacturers and managers for pharmacy benefits, have slammed several proposals that are unfavorable to their members. They launched advertising campaigns shortly after the executive orders were unveiled.
Trump’s signing of the executive orders drew him attention to drug prices, albeit briefly, even as the nation fought the coronavirus pandemic. While his administration has put forward many proposals to address the issue, it remains to be seen whether one will actually have an impact.
.
