CounterPunch Exclusives

CounterPunch Exclusives

One More Iffy Trump Drug Deal

Photograph Source: The White House – Public Domain

On April 23, President Trump unveiled a drug pricing deal with Regeneron, which became the 17th company to strike a deal as part of what is known as the White House’s “Most Favored Nation” program. While these deals are billed as an attempt to bring the US prescription drug prices closer to what they cost in other countries, there are major questions about what they will actually mean in reality.

At the event announcing the new deal, Trump said the MFN program was “the biggest price reduction in drugs in history… By itself, we should win the midterms.” But these deals – voluntary agreements negotiated by the White House and the companies – are unlikely to win elections anytime soon.

The Regeneron discounts, similar to those with other pharmaceutical companies, apply to the TrumpRx website, as well as the Medicaid program. The latter could amount to some savings, though the details are unclear (as they are with all of the Trump deals thus far.) Creating a discount for the TrumpRx website means the benefits are very limited – as Brandon Novick pointed out about the earlier MFN deals, most Americans use insurance of some........

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