Trump: Price of Pharmaceuticals to be Reduced “by 30% to 80%”

by Sharon Rondeau

(May 11, 2025) — Between 2:00 and 3:00 p.m. EDT Sunday, President Trump wrote on TruthSocial a one-sentence declaration stating his next post, or “TRUTH,” would be “one of the most important and impactful I have ever issued.”

“ENJOY!” he added.

The next post, issued approximately four hours later, dealt with the cost of prescription drugs, with Trump announcing he will be signing an executive order Monday morning to reduce those costs between 30% and 80%.

“For many years the World has wondered why Prescription Drugs and Pharmaceuticals in the United States States of America were SO MUCH HIGHER IN PRICE THAN THEY WERE IN ANY OTHER NATION, SOMETIMES BEING FIVE TO TEN TIMES MORE EXPENSIVE THAN THE SAME DRUG, MANUFACTURED IN THE EXACT SAME LABORATORY OR PLANT, BY THE SAME COMPANY???” Trump wrote. “It was always difficult to explain and very embarrassing because, in fact, there was no correct or rightful answer. The Pharmaceutical/Drug Companies would say, for years, that it was Research and Development Costs, and that all of these costs were, and would be, for no reason whatsoever, borne by the “suckers” of America, ALONE. Campaign Contributions can do wonders, but not with me, and not with the Republican Party. We are going to do the right thing, something that the Democrats have fought for many years. Therefore, I am pleased to announce that Tomorrow morning, in the White House, at 9:00 A.M., I will be signing one of the most consequential Executive Orders in our Country’s history. Prescription Drug and Pharmaceutical prices will be REDUCED, almost immediately, by 30% to 80%. They will rise throughout the World in order to equalize and, for the first time in many years, bring FAIRNESS TO AMERICA! I will be instituting a MOST FAVORED NATION’S POLICY whereby the United States will pay the same price as the Nation that pays the lowest price anywhere in the World. Our Country will finally be treated fairly, and our citizens Healthcare Costs will be reduced by numbers never even thought of before. Additionally, on top of everything else, the United States will save TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS. Thank you for your attention to this matter. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

According to NBC News on Thursday, “President Donald Trump will announce a plan to lower U.S. prescription drug costs by tying the amount the government pays for some medications to prices paid abroad, according to an administration official familiar with the matter — a strategy he pursued unsuccessfully during his first term.”

NBC quoted an article published the same day in Politico which reported, “President Donald Trump plans to revive an effort to dramatically slash drug costs by tying the amount the government pays for some medicines to lower prices abroad, three people familiar with the matter told POLITICO.”

The drugs involved will all be Medicare-approved, both sources reported.

Toward the end of Trump’s first term, the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a press release declaring:

In support of President Trump’s historic commitment to lowering drug prices for American patients, HHS Secretary Alex Azar announced a drug payment model through the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation at the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services that will lower Medicare Part B payments for certain drugs to the lowest price for similar countries and save American taxpayers and beneficiaries more than $85 billion over seven years.

Starting in January, the model, known as the Most Favored Nation (MFN) Model, will test an innovative way for Medicare to pay no more for high cost, physician-administered Medicare Part B drugs than the lowest price charged in other similar countries. Following the President’s recent Executive Orders to lower drug prices and improve access to life-saving medications, the MFN Model will protect current beneficiary access to Medicare Part B drugs, make them more affordable, and address the disparity of drug costs between the U.S. and other countries.

On December 4, 2020, four plaintiffs filed a lawsuit against the intended change in policy, writing, “the Most Favored Nation (MFN) Interim Final Rule exceeds the statutory authority provided to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, raises serious constitutional questions and improperly fails to follow required rulemaking procedures.”

The general counsel for one of the plaintiffs, PhRMA, further stated:

“The Most Favored Nation Interim Final Rule is bad policy that is contrary to law and that the administration expressly admits will disrupt patients’ access to medicines. By pushing through a nationwide, mandatory policy change, the administration is essentially rewriting the Medicare statute. It is circumventing Congress entirely, ignoring the roles assigned to the executive and legislative branches. The U.S. Constitution is clear: The administration does not have the legal authority to write new laws or override existing laws through regulations. Laws must be passed by both chambers of Congress and signed by the president.“

As a result, the policy was never implemented.

In what became a busy social-media day, Trump also issued statements on the Russia-Ukraine War; the “invasion” of what he said were 21 million illegal aliens into the U.S. during the Biden years and his frustration with recent rulings of a number of federal judges to halt the deportations the administration believes are justified; Trump’s “tariff policy” intended to return manufacturing to the United States to spur the economy; and an announcement of the expected release of Hamas hostage Edan Alexander.

On October 7, 2023, Hamas launched an attack on southern Israel, killing approximately 1,200 men, women and children and taking 250 hostages, some of whom were citizens of other nations.

“I am happy to announce that Edan Alexander, an American citizen who has been held hostage since October 2023, is coming home to his family,” Trump posted at approximately 6:45 p.m. “I am grateful to all those involved in making this monumental news happen. This was a step taken in good faith towards the United States and the efforts of the mediators — Qatar and Egypt — to put an end to this very brutal war and return ALL living hostages and remains to their loved ones. Hopefully this is the first of those final steps necessary to end this brutal conflict. I look very much forward to that day of celebration!”

On Sunday Hamas issued a statement that it had been in contact with the Trump administration and that Alexander “will be released as part of the steps being taken toward a ceasefire, the opening of border crossings, and the entry of aid and relief for our people in the Gaza Strip,” according to Fox News.