Daijiworld Media Network - Washington
Washington, Oct 7: US President Donald Trump's claims that Americans are now paying the world's lowest prescription drug prices are facing scrutiny, with a new analysis finding that TrumpRx prices are lower than the average prices in other wealthy countries for only about half of the medicines examined.
Trump has increasingly promoted his drug pricing deals ahead of the Nov. 3 midterm elections, recently saying the achievement alone should help his party in the polls. TrumpRx.gov, the administration's public platform for prescription drug discounts, has expanded significantly since its launch in February and now lists more than 800 brand-name and generic medicines.
However, it remains unclear how much American consumers have actually saved through the programme. Federal inflation data showed prescription drug prices fell 3.1% in the year ending in July, although experts said it was too early to determine how much of the decline was linked to Trump's drug pricing agreements.
A KFF analysis examined 32 brand-name drugs listed on TrumpRx that do not have generic or biosimilar alternatives. Their prices were compared with prices in 11 other wealthy countries, including Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. The prices analysed were current as of August 26.
The analysis found that TrumpRx prices were lower than the average prices abroad for 17 of the 32 medicines, while they were higher for the remaining 15. However, when compared with the lowest price available among the countries studied, only five TrumpRx medicines were the cheapest, while 13 were the most expensive.
For instance, the diabetes drug Ozempic is available through TrumpRx for $349 a month for patients paying out of pocket. However, KFF found that the next-highest price among the countries studied was $190 a month.
The difference was even greater for Enbrel, a rheumatoid arthritis treatment. A monthly supply costs $3,354 through TrumpRx, compared with an average of $641 in the other countries where prices were available.
Some medicines were significantly cheaper through TrumpRx. Rydapt, used to treat certain blood cancers, costs $2,909 for 56 capsules through the platform, less than half the $5,901 price in France, the next-cheapest country in the comparison.
Juliette Cubanski, deputy director of KFF's Medicare policy programme and a co-author of the report, described the findings as a "mixed bag", saying discounts offered through TrumpRx did not consistently bring prices below those in comparable countries.
TrumpRx represents a different approach from former President Joe Biden's policy of using Medicare's negotiating power to secure lower prices for selected high-cost medicines. Trump's strategy relies largely on voluntary agreements with individual drugmakers to offer discounts directly to consumers.
The exact terms of many of those agreements remain confidential. TrumpRx does not directly sell medicines but often directs consumers to manufacturer programmes offering coupons or discounted cash prices without insurance.
About nine in 10 Americans have some form of health insurance, meaning many obtain medicines through private insurance, Medicare or Medicaid. Payments made through TrumpRx generally do not count towards a patient's insurance copay or deductible.
Health policy experts also cautioned that direct international price comparisons have limitations because some medicines available in the US are not sold in all comparison countries, while publicly available overseas prices may not reflect confidential discounts negotiated by governments.
The KFF study also did not cover every medicine listed on TrumpRx. Antonio Ciaccia, CEO of 46brooklyn Research, said there were about 80 brand-name drugs on the platform, while KFF was able to compare prices for 32.
Experts said it was too early to determine whether Trump's programme would lead to sustained reductions in US drug prices. They also warned that negotiations could potentially result in higher prices in other countries, narrowing the difference without necessarily producing additional savings for American consumers.