\u201cDonald Trump said he was going to allow Medicare to negotiate drug prices. He never did. We did.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vice President Kamala Harris at the ABC News presidential debate, Sept. 10<\/p>\n
Since Vice President Kamala Harris entered the presidential race, she and former President Donald Trump have sparred over their approaches to lowering prescription drug costs. Harris has described this as an important campaign promise that Trump made but didn\u2019t deliver on.<\/p>\n
\u201cDonald Trump said he was going to allow Medicare to negotiate drug prices,\u201d Harris said during the ABC News debate<\/a> on Sept. 10 in Philadelphia. \u201cHe never did. We did.\u201d<\/p>\n She previously told CNN<\/a> that Trump\u2019s promise to pursue such negotiations \u201cnever happened\u201d during his administration.<\/p>\n During the 2016 presidential campaign, Trump repeatedly promised<\/a>, if elected, to take steps to allow the government to negotiate drug prices. He never enacted such a policy in office. The Trump administration pursued smaller, temporary programs aimed at lowering drug costs.<\/p>\n However, experts say the effect of Trump\u2019s moves fell far short of the expected effect of the Medicare drug price negotiation program included in President Joe Biden\u2019s Inflation Reduction Act and of what Trump promised.<\/p>\n Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Policy, Explained<\/strong><\/p>\n The Inflation Reduction Act \u2014 a sweeping climate and health care law Biden signed in August 2022 \u2014 included a measure authorizing the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to negotiate<\/a> Medicare prescription drug prices directly with pharmaceutical companies.<\/p>\n \u201cThe idea behind drug price negotiation is that Medicare can use its buying power to get a better price than what is currently being negotiated for these drugs,\u201d according to Juliette Cubanski<\/a>, deputy director of the Program on Medicare Policy at KFF, a health information nonprofit that includes KFF Health News.<\/p>\n Medicare covers more than 67 million Americans, giving it enormous potential influence over prices for U.S. drugs and medical services.<\/p>\n In August, CMS announced it had secured significant discounts on the list prices of 10 drugs because of its negotiations. Those discounts ranged from a 38% reduction for blood cancer medication Imbruvica on the low end to a 79% cut for diabetes drug Januvia on the high side. (List prices and the prices Medicare drug plans pay can differ.)<\/p>\n The new prices are expected to save Medicare $6 billion in the first year, with Medicare beneficiaries set to save an additional $1.5 billion in out-of-pocket costs, according to the White House.<\/p>\n Those new prices aren\u2019t set to take effect until 2026 \u2014 though Biden and Harris have highlighted other aspects of the law that are bringing down drug costs sooner, such as a $35-a-month out-of-pocket price cap on insulin<\/a> for Medicare enrollees and a $2,000 yearly out-of-pocket spending cap for Part D drugs effective in January. The Part D program covers most generic and brand-name outpatient prescription drugs.<\/p>\n CMS will start negotiating prices for the next group of drugs \u2014 15 a year for the next two years \u2014 in early 2025, and those talks will continue annually at least through the end of the decade.<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s Promises Versus His Actions<\/strong><\/p>\n As a presidential candidate in 2016, Donald Trump pledged to pursue prescription drug price negotiation programs \u2014 and sometimes overstated such a policy\u2019s power to cut prices.<\/p>\n During multiple<\/a> campaign<\/a> rallies<\/a> and media interviews<\/a> that year, Trump suggested allowing the government to negotiate drug prices directly with manufacturers would save $300 billion a year, a claim a fact-checker said was \u201cabsurd\u201d<\/a> then.<\/p>\n \u201cThe problem is, we don\u2019t negotiate,\u201d Trump said during an MSNBC town hall<\/a> in Charleston, South Carolina, on Feb. 17, 2016. \u201cWe\u2019re the largest drug buyer in the world. We don\u2019t negotiate.\u201d He went on to say: \u201cIf we negotiated the price of drugs, Joe, we\u2019d save $300 billion a year.\u201d<\/p>\n Similarly, at a Feb. 24, 2016, rally in Virginia Beach, Virginia, Trump reiterated his interest in making this change. \u201cIf you bid them out we\u2019ll save $300 billion \u2026 and we don\u2019t even do it. We\u2019re going to do it.\u201d The pharmaceutical industry would push back, he said, but he added: \u201cTrust me I can do it.\u201d<\/p>\n In office, however, Trump backed away from those promises, rejecting a bill<\/a> spearheaded by then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to authorize such negotiations. The Democratic-led House ultimately passed that legislation, though the Republican-led Senate didn\u2019t consider it.<\/p>\n \u201cPelosi and her Do Nothing Democrats drug pricing bill doesn\u2019t do the trick,\u201d Trump wrote on X<\/a>, the social platform then known as Twitter.<\/p>\n Trump pursued smaller initiatives that sought to lower drug costs. One such program, the \u201cmost favored nation<\/a>\u201d model, tried to cap the cost of some Part B medications \u2014 those administered in a doctor\u2019s office or hospital outpatient setting \u2014 at the lowest price paid in certain peer nations with a per capita GDP of at least 60% that of the United States.<\/p>\n \u201cMedicare is the largest purchaser of drugs anywhere in the world by far,\u201d Trump said in announcing the program. \u201cWe\u2019re finally going to use that incredible power to achieve a fairer and lower price for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n The Trump campaign didn\u2019t respond to an inquiry about prescription drug price negotiations or the most favored nation model.<\/p>\n The program would have started in January 2021 and lasted seven years. CMS officials estimated<\/a> the government would save more than $85 billion on Part B spending. But some of those savings came from assumptions that Medicare beneficiaries would lose access to some Part B medications under the model, with some manufacturers unlikely to sell products at the lower, foreign prices.<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s program never took effect. Amid lawsuits from several drug companies and industry groups, a federal judge stayed the plan in December 2020. The Biden administration scrapped it in 2022.<\/p>\n Even if the most favored nation model had been enacted, experts say it wouldn\u2019t have come close to saving Americans or the government as much money as the IRA\u2019s drug price negotiation provisions. A contemporaneous analysis<\/a> of Trump\u2019s proposal estimated that 7% of the 60 million Medicare beneficiaries in 2018 would have benefited.<\/p>\n More importantly, the most favored nation model did not authorize the government to negotiate prescription drug prices with manufacturers \u2014 the policy Trump promised to implement.<\/p>\n What Comes Next?<\/strong><\/p>\n A recent KFF poll<\/a> shows 85% of Americans, including more than three-quarters of Republicans, favor allowing Medicare to negotiate prices with drug companies.<\/p>\n And lowering drug costs continues to be a key issue for both campaigns, with Trump and Harris sparring over everything from the price of insulin<\/a> to the impact of the Inflation Reduction Act<\/a> on Medicare spending.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll lower the cost of insulin and prescription drugs for everyone with your support, not only our seniors,\u201d Harris told supporters at an Aug. 16 campaign event in Raleigh, North Carolina, promising to extend the IRA\u2019s price caps.<\/p>\n A Trump campaign spokesperson, meanwhile, previously told KFF Health News that the former president \u201cwill do everything possible to lower drug costs for Americans when he\u2019s back in the White House, just like he accomplished in his first term.\u201d She provided no specifics.<\/p>\n Trump, however, has also repeatedly promised to repeal parts of the Inflation Reduction Act \u2014 though he has never specifically mentioned the drug price negotiation provision \u2014 and to rescind unspent money. Congressional Republicans have spoken publicly<\/a> about their intentions to roll back the drug price negotiation provision.<\/p>\n Even without legislative changes, the next president will have the opportunity to steer Medicare\u2019s prescription drug price negotiation process.<\/p>\n \u201cAn administration that wants to be more lenient on drug companies might be more lax in the negotiations process,\u201d said Tricia Neuman, a senior vice president at KFF and the executive director of its Program on Medicare Policy. \u201cOr the administration could perhaps be tougher than the Biden administration.\u201d<\/p>\n Our Ruling<\/strong><\/p>\n As a presidential candidate in 2016, Donald Trump promised to let the government negotiate prescription drug prices directly with pharmaceutical companies. As president, however, he instead tried to tie some U.S. drug prices to their costs in other countries. Drugmakers and industry groups sued, challenging the move, and courts blocked it.<\/p>\n Harris, therefore, is correct that Trump never was able to open Medicare up to drug negotiations despite his sweeping campaign promises.<\/p>\n We rate Harris\u2019 claim True.<\/p>\n ABC News, \u201cREAD: Harris-Trump Presidential Debate Transcript<\/a>,\u201d Sept. 10, 2024<\/p>\n Axios, \u201cHill GOP Sets Sights on Scrapping Drug Price Talks<\/a>,\u201d Sept. 17, 2024<\/p>\n Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, \u201cTrump Administration Announces Prescription Drug Payment Model To Put American Patients First<\/a>,\u201d Nov. 18, 2020<\/p>\n CNN, \u201cREAD: Harris and Walz\u2019s Exclusive Joint Interview With CNN<\/a>,\u201d Aug. 30, 2024<\/p>\n Congress.gov, \u201cH.R.3 \u2013 Elijah E. Cummings Lower Drug Costs Now Act<\/a>,\u201d accessed Sept. 17, 2024<\/p>\n Factbase, \u201cDonald Trump Attends an MSNBC Town Hall in Charleston, South Carolina<\/a>,\u201d Feb. 17, 2016<\/p>\n Factbase, \u201cDonald Trump in Pawleys Island, SC<\/a>,\u201d Feb. 19, 2016<\/p>\n Federal Register, \u201c42 CFR Part 513<\/a>,\u201d Nov. 27, 2020<\/p>\n KFF, \u201cA Status Report on Prescription Drug Policies and Proposals at the Start of the Biden Administration,<\/a>\u201d Feb. 11, 2021<\/p>\n KFF, \u201cKFF Health Tracking Poll September 2024: Support for Reducing Prescription Drug Prices Remains High, Even As Awareness of IRA Provisions Lags<\/a>,\u201d Sept. 13, 2024<\/p>\n KFF, \u201cMost People Are Unlikely To See Drug Cost Savings From President Trump\u2019s \u2018Most Favored Nation\u2019 Proposal<\/a>,\u201d Aug. 27, 2020<\/p>\n KFF Health News, \u201c5 Things To Know About the New Drug Pricing Negotiations<\/a>,\u201d Aug. 30, 2023<\/p>\n KFF Health News, \u201cHarris Did Not Vote To \u2018Cut Medicare,\u2019 Despite Trump\u2019s Claim<\/a>,\u201d Aug. 20, 2024<\/p>\n KFF Health News, \u201cTrump Is Wrong in Claiming Full Credit for Lowering Insulin Prices<\/a>,\u201d July 18, 2024<\/p>\n Phone interview with Tricia Neuman, a senior vice president at KFF and the executive director of its Program on Medicare Policy, Sept. 13, 2024<\/p>\n Reuters, \u201cFederal Judge Blocks Trump Administration Drug Pricing Rule<\/a>,\u201d Dec. 23, 2020<\/p>\n The Washington Post, \u201cTrump\u2019s Truly Absurd Claim He Would Save $300 Billion a Year on Prescription Drugs<\/a>,\u201d Feb. 18, 2016<\/p>\n The White House, \u201cRemarks by President Trump at Signing of Executive Orders on Lowering Drug Prices<\/a>\u201d July 24, 2020<\/p>\n The White House, \u201cRemarks by Vice President Harris at a Campaign Event in Raleigh, NC<\/a>,\u201d Aug. 16, 2024<\/p>\n X, then known as Twitter, \u201c@RealDonaldTrump<\/a>,\u201d Nov. 22, 2019<\/p>\n KFF Health News<\/a> is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF\u2014an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about KFF<\/a>.<\/p>\nOur Sources:<\/h4>\n
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