President Trump takes on 'Big Pharma' by signing executive order to lower drug prices

President Donald Trump declared Monday that the U.S. "will nary longer tolerate profiteering and terms gouging from Big Pharma" arsenic helium signed an enforcement bid implementing what his medication is calling "most favored nations cause pricing." 

"The rule is elemental – immoderate the lowest terms paid for a cause successful different developed countries, that is the terms that Americans volition pay," Trump said astatine the White House. "Some medicine cause and pharmaceutical prices volition beryllium reduced astir instantly by 50 to 80 to 90%." 

Trump said that "starting today, the United States volition nary longer subsidize the healthcare of overseas countries, which is what we were doing. We're subsidizing others’ healthcare, the countries wherever they paid a tiny fraction of what for the aforesaid cause that what we wage many, galore times much for and volition nary longer tolerate profiteering and terms gouging from Big Pharma." 

"Even though the United States is location to lone 4% of the world's population, pharmaceutical companies marque much than 2 thirds of their profits successful America. So deliberation of that with 4% of the population, the pharmaceutical companies marque astir of their money. Most of their profits from America. That's not a bully thing," Trump continued.  

TRUMP SAYS HE WILL SLASH DRUG PRICES WITH EXECUTIVE ORDER

U.S. President Donald Trump, accompanied by Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., left, speaks during a swearing successful ceremonial for Dr. Mehmet Oz arsenic the Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator successful the Oval Office astatine the White House connected April 18. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

"I think, by the way, pharmaceutical – I person large respect for these companies and for the radical that tally them. I truly do, and I deliberation they did 1 of the top jobs successful past for their company, convincing radical for galore years that this was a just system. Nobody truly understood why, but I figured it out. For years, pharmaceutical and cause companies person said that probe and improvement costs were what they are, and for nary crushed whatsoever, they had to beryllium borne by America alone," Trump said. "Not anymore, they don't." 

The White House said the enforcement bid "directs the U.S. Trade Representative and Secretary of Commerce to instrumentality enactment to guarantee overseas countries are not engaged successful practices that purposefully and unfairly undercut marketplace prices and thrust terms hikes successful the United States.

"The Order instructs the Administration to pass terms targets to pharmaceutical manufacturers to found that America, the largest purchaser and funder of medicine drugs successful the world, gets the champion deal," the White House said.

"The Secretary of Health and Human Services volition found a mechanics done which American patients tin bargain their drugs straight from manufacturers who merchantability to Americans astatine a ‘Most-Favored-Nation’ price, bypassing middlemen," the White House added. "If cause manufacturers neglect to connection most-favored-nation pricing, the Order directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to: (1) suggest rules that enforce most-favored-nation pricing; and (2) instrumentality different assertive measures to importantly trim the outgo of medicine drugs to the American user and extremity anticompetitive practices."

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, said alongside Trump, "I ne'er thought that this would hap successful my lifetime."

"I person a mates of kids who are Democrats, are large Bernie Sanders fans. And erstwhile I told them that this was going to happen, they had tears successful their eyes. Because they thought, this is ne'er going to happen," helium said. "And we yet person a president who is consenting to basal up for the American people." 

MAHA CAUCUS MEMBER PLEDGES HEARINGS INTO ‘CORRUPTION’ OF A PUBLIC HEALTH SECTOR ‘CAPTURED BY BIG PHARMA’

Bottles of medicine thrust connected a loop astatine a mail-in pharmacy warehouse successful Florence, N.J., successful July 2018. (AP/Julio Cortez)

Trump said earlier this greeting that cause prices would beryllium "cut by 59%." 

The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) commercialized radical opposes the order, saying, "This Foreign First Pricing strategy is simply a atrocious woody for American patients." 

"Importing overseas prices volition chopped billions of dollars from Medicare with nary warrant that it helps patients oregon improves their entree to medicines," the group’s president, Stephen Ubl, said successful a connection provided to Fox News Digital. "It volition jeopardize the hundreds of billions our subordinate companies are readying to put successful America, making america much reliant connected China for innovative medicines." 

President Donald Trump signs enforcement orders successful the Oval Office of the White House connected Jan. 20, successful Washington, D.C. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

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"To little costs for Americans, we request to code the existent reasons U.S. patients are paying much for their medicines. We are the lone state successful the satellite that lets PBMs, insurers and hospitals instrumentality 50% of each dollar spent connected medicines," Ubl besides said. "In fact, infirmary markups successful 340B and the rebates and fees paid to middlemen successful the U.S. often transcend the full outgo of medicines oversees. Giving much of this wealth to patients volition little their medicine costs and trim the spread with European prices." 

Fox News Digital’s Greg Wehner contributed to this report.