On April 15, the White House issued a drug pricing executive order (EO), along with an associated fact sheet, with a stated goal of "providing access to prescription drugs at lower costs to American patients and taxpayers." The EO—Lowering Drug Prices by Once Again Putting Americans First—contains 13 policy directives to various agencies across a wide array of programs, including Medicare, Medicaid, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and 340B. In most cases, the EO directs various agencies to either produce findings or promulgate regulations by a specified time period to accomplish its policy objectives.
The EO provides the Trump Administration's first commentary on the Inflation Reduction Act's (IRA) Drug Negotiation Program. For the first time in President Trump's second term, the EO provides insights on what policies the Administration may undertake on prescription drug pricing, including with respect to IRA implementation, drug importation, demonstrations through the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) on prescription drug access, and reforms to both Medicare and Medicaid drug pricing.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
