President Trump on Thursday launched the Trump Rx website, offering a first-of-its-kind route for patients to buy medicines directly from drugmakers without insurance or middlemen involved.
TrumpRx.gov will allow consumers to purchase drugs for migraines, diabetes and other conditions at discounted prices that Mr. Trump negotiated with major pharmaceutical companies.
The president teased the website for months, and it was expected to launch in January. Now, it’s here.
Mr. Trump unveiled the site in a prime-time event with the Administrator for Medicare and Medicaid Services Mehmet Oz and U.S. Chief Design Officer Joe Gebbia.
The flashy launch is part of Mr. Trump’s push to address cost-of-living concerns for Americans ahead of what’s expected to be a tough midterm election battle for Republicans.
“This launch represents the largest reduction in prescription drug history, by many, many times,” Mr. Trump said. “You’re going to see numbers that you’re not going to believe.”
Patients won’t buy medicines directly from the Trump website. Instead, they will either print out or download a coupon for the prescription drug from the site and then find a nearby pharmacy that will accept the coupon. Patients can even have the drugs delivered directly to them by mail.
Mr. Trump said 16 major drug companies have signed on to participate. Notably, the companies agreed to sell their products under “most favored nation” (MFN) policies that peg prices to lower costs in other nations.
The White House has detailed steep discounts. For example,
• The prices of popular weight-loss drugs, Ozempic and Wegovy, will fall from $1,000 and $1,350 per month, respectively, to $199 when purchased through TrumpRx.
• Merck will reduce the price of its diabetes medication, Januvia, from $330 to $100 for patients purchasing directly through TrumpRx.
• Amgen will cut the price of its cholesterol drug Repatha from $573 to $239 for TrumpRx customers
IVF drugs will also be available for purchase at TrumpRx.
Experts say the details of the negotiations are opaque, so it is hard to determine how the parties arrived at the prices.
They also say the plan is not a holistic solution to high drug prices, and insured Americans will probably stick to regular paths of purchase for their medicines instead of paying drug companies directly.
Instead, the target customer for Trump RX might be someone who does not have health insurance but needs a certain drug at a more affordable price.
Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, a major drugmakers’ lobby, says 27.2 million Americans are uninsured and must pay out of pocket for medications, while over 80 million Americans are enrolled in high-deductible health plans that generally force them to pay the full list price of the medicine until their insurance kicks in.
That latter group might also find Trump RX attractive.
Thursday’s launch features drugs made by the first five companies to reach most-favored-nation pricing deals with Mr. Trump: AstraZeneca, Eli Lilly, EMD Serono, Novo Nordisk and Pfizer.
Other top drug companies will make their drugs available on the site in the coming months, the White House said.
Drugmakers have received tariff relief or expedited reviews for their products in exchange for their participation, and they are hoping for added revenue from discount-driven sales.
Dr. Jeffrey Singer, a health policy expert at the libertarian Cato Institute, said direct-to-consumer sales can lower prices by increasing awareness around true costs and forcing drugmakers to compete.
“But a government-run platform isn’t necessary to achieve that goal,” he said. “Private firms are already expanding direct-to-consumer options, and federal involvement risks crowding out competition and introducing political favoritism into a market that might finally be becoming more consumer-driven.”
• Tom Howell Jr. can be reached at thowell@washingtontimes.com.
• Jeff Mordock can be reached at jmordock@washingtontimes.com.
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