President Donald Trump is preparing to go to war with the pharmaceutical industry as the White House plans to unveil a sweeping plan to slash Medicare drug prices by linking them to lower costs abroad, according to a new report in Politico.
Trump is expected to sign an executive order early next week directing his aids to pursue the “most favored nation” policy for a selection of drugs tied to the Medicare program,” the publication reported. The initiative “would use the administration’s authorities to force prices down.”
But the move could also spark a major clash between the Trump administration and Big Pharma – and open up a new round of legal fights.
“Should Trump go ahead with the order, it would represent a major confrontation between the White House and the deep-pocketed pharmaceutical industry,” according to the report.
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The proposal, which remains under internal review and has not yet received Trump’s approval, would mark a revival of a plan he attempted to push through during his first term but was ultimately stymied by legal challenges and pushback from the pharmaceutical industry, Politico added.
“The effort, if finalized, would likely draw massive opposition from a drug industry that has warned the idea would decimate companies’ ability to develop new drugs,” Politico added. “It could also trigger fresh legal challenges.”
The initiative is said to be the mystery announcement Trump teased in the Oval Office on Tuesday as he met with newly elected Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney.
“We’re going to have a very very big announcement to make - like as big as it gets,” Trump said. “It will be one of the most important announcements that have been made in many years about a certain subject.”