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Yesterday, President Trump signed a major executive order aimed at reducing prescription drug costs, something American consumers have been disgruntled with for years, but European customers have largely not had to deal with at all.
The EO, which establishes a "Most-Favored-Nation" prescription drug pricing system, was signed by the President at the White House yesterday. It reads in part, "The United States has less than five percent of the world’s population and yet funds around three quarters of global pharmaceutical profits."
David Balat, CEO of Direct Care Alliance, affirmed the President's claim that American consumers are being taken advantage of, saying, "Currently, the United States spends far in excess of what any other country in the world spends on pharmaceutical medications, and that's for a number of reasons."
He said one of the main reasons is all the middlemen that operate between drug manufacturers and their consumers. He explained that, "We have a lot of perverse incentives that are built into our existing systems. Entities that never touch the medications benefit the most."
Balat said this EO could push those entities out of the process entirely by helping to facilitate direct-to-consumer sales. That key aspect of this EO is what sets it apart from the similar order Trump signed in his first term in 2020.
Balat said it could also be how this order could have the biggest effect on drug prices. He said, "That may be the crown jewel of this executive order. If there's anything that we can do to facilitate direct-to-consumer sales, that's going to contribute to dramatic decreases."
He says it will likely take some time for the order to take full effect, but when it does, it could save consumers anywhere from 40 to 70 percent.