OPINION:
As the American population rapidly ages, ensuring consistent and reliable access to treatments for conditions impacting older adults is becoming increasingly urgent. In the U.S., older adults make up 17% of the nation’s population, and 9 out of 10 older adults report living with at least one chronic condition that requires treatment.
Thankfully, President Trump has once again stepped in to put American patients first with the launch of TrumpRx. A direct-to-consumer website fueled by White House-negotiated deals with top pharmaceutical companies, TrumpRx will help Americans access their prescription medications at record-low prices and reshape our nation’s health care for decades to come. The rest of the players in our health care system — from innovators and payers to middlemen, including pharmacy benefit managers, and wholesalers — must also step up to the plate and start delivering for American seniors and patients.
Americans pay nearly three times more on average for prescription drugs than patients in other developed countries. By working with manufacturers to align American prices for specific medications with the lowest prices paid by other developed nations for those same medicines, leaders in Washington have taken an essential first step to ensure Americans don’t pay more than patients abroad. They have done it without using dangerous price controls that would allow foreign nations to continue free-riding off American investments. The U.S. shoulders roughly three-quarters of global pharmaceutical profits, yet our patients struggle while foreign countries reap the benefits. With these announcements, the U.S. is sending a long-overdue message to the world: American patients come first.
These agreements will provide immediate financial relief for patients and protect U.S. leadership in the biopharmaceutical industry. Experts have rightfully cautioned that heavy-handed executive orders or price controls could risk stifling the pursuit of new and more effective treatments for patients awaiting cures. However, these deals set a critical precedent that affordability and innovation are not mutually exclusive when government and industry engage constructively.
Nonetheless, policymakers must continue to approach issues affecting drug pricing with a cautious perspective. Although initiatives between the White House and manufacturers bring hope to patient communities, we must strive to maintain a delicate balance between affordability and accessibility. Biopharmaceutical innovation relies on sustainable funding levels to support the research and development of new molecules. Any restrictive pricing strategy risks putting the pipeline of new drugs, treatments and therapies under threat.
Additionally, many sophisticated new treatments for rare or chronic diseases are either manufactured abroad or require ingredients sourced outside the U.S. Our reliance on foreign nations makes the pricing and the very existence of these medications highly vulnerable to supply chain disruptions and cost fluctuations, including those likely to be caused by tariffs.
As the Trump administration continues to direct significant investments toward American pharmaceutical manufacturing, we need policies that help our innovation economy flourish and protect access to the medications on which patients rely. If prices rise because of misguided trade policies, it could compound existing challenges with drug shortages and further limit treatment availability, ultimately negatively impacting patient health outcomes. Collaborations between policymakers and innovators, as well as other entities across the health care supply chain, can help prevent unintended consequences that harm seniors, patients and local economies across the nation.
Manufacturers alone do not bear the responsibility to ensure that patients can access the care they need. Pharmacy benefit managers, insurers, hospitals and even large employers must also come to the table with commitments of their own. Pharmacy benefit managers can commit to passing negotiated rebates directly to patients rather than pocketing the savings to boost their own bottom lines. Hospitals can increase price transparency and reduce drug markups that balloon patient bills. Employers can negotiate fair contracts for the millions of Americans they insure. A culture of cooperation will prove vital to any progress for patients and American seniors.
Agreements, such as those made between the White House and manufacturers, take a strong first step toward collaborative efforts to improve patient access and protect biopharmaceutical research and development. However, they will not succeed without the support of the other actors in the health care supply chain. It’s far past time for other members of the health care industry to join lawmakers and innovators in the fight for our patients’ futures.
• Saul Anuzis is president of the 60 Plus Association, the American Association of Senior Citizens.
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