Overview

• On July 31, Trump sent letters to 17 major pharmaceutical CEOs giving them until September 29 to align U.S. drug prices with the lowest rates in developed countries.
• The administration’s directive builds on a May executive order that tasked HHS with setting “Most Favored Nations” target prices within 30 days.
• Experts say reductions above 100 percent are mathematically impossible and note that no prescription drug prices have actually been lowered.
• Industry attorneys predict legal challenges over presidential authority after courts blocked a similar most-favored-nation rule in 2020 and the Biden administration rescinded it in 2021.
• White House officials argue the policy will curb U.S. overpayment on medications, but enforcement mechanisms and impacts on pharmaceutical innovation remain unclear.