Pharma in state of alarm as Trump pushes ‘most favored nation’ Medicaid drug prices

Pharmaceutical industry executives and lobbyists are in “Defcon 1,” the highest state of alarm, over President Donald Trump’s push to include a “most favored nation” policy for Medicaid drug purchases in budget reconciliation legislation. The president’s proposal represents a far larger threat to the industry than the Medicare drug price negotiation program that was enacted during the Biden administration.

The industry is also scrambling to oppose a broader drug price control bill, sponsored by two senators on opposite sides of the ideological spectrum, Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Peter Welch (D-Vt.). Their Fair Prescription Drug Prices for Americans Act would cap U.S. drug prices at the average retail list price paid in Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the U.K. It would apply across all payers, public and private. ...