President Donald Trump said reductions in prescription drug prices will play a major role in the upcoming midterm elections, calling the cuts a “shock to the system” that will benefit millions of Americans.
In an Oval Office press conference, Trump appeared alongside top healthcare officials and Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla to announce that the pharmaceutical giant will allow state Medicaid programs to access medications at most-favored-nation (MFN) prices — the lowest costs available among developed nations, Breitbart News reported.
According to a White House fact sheet, several drugs will see dramatic reductions. Eucrisa, a treatment for dermatitis, will be offered at an 80 percent discount. Xeljanz, a rheumatoid arthritis drug, will be reduced by 40 percent, while Zavzpret, used to treat migraines, will see a 50 percent cut.
Trump said the deal marks the beginning of a broader effort to bring down costs.“We’re going to have another meeting next week on this,” Trump told reporters. “We have another great company coming in, similar kind of numbers, but we’re going to show you some 1,000 percent drops in prices. There has never been anything like this in the history of medicine.”
When asked by Breitbart News how significant the reductions could be in shaping the midterm elections, Trump did not hesitate.
“Huge,” he said. “I’ve wanted to do it from the beginning, from my first day and first term, and we were doing so well. We had the greatest economy we’ve ever had. Everything was good, and then we’re ready to do this, which is complex and big. It’s a big change. But what happened is COVID came, and we focused on COVID.”
Trump pointed to his administration’s pandemic response — particularly work with Bourla and other pharmaceutical executives — as evidence of his ability to deliver breakthroughs under pressure.
“We focused on COVID very hard with Albert, with the other companies, with everybody,” Trump said. “Regeneron was a great thing. We did a lot of therapeutics that were fantastic, and so we focused on that.”
The president said lowering prescription costs was one of his top priorities upon returning to the White House and that his administration has been working on the issue for the past eight.
