U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz announced Tuesday a massive expansion of TrumpRx, with the addition of 160 more medications to the website, pushing the total to over 750 drugs.
Dr. Oz said the addition of the new medicines means “four out of five medications that are picked up by Americans” will now be available through TrumpRx.
“It gives everybody the ability to make important decisions about medications they’re purchasing with full knowledge of what the cost of those medications are, and that’s important, because transparency drives cost-effective changes in how we procure and consume products,” he said at a White House press briefing.
TrumpRx, a government website introduced in January, does not sell drugs directly but helps Americans find the lowest prices for medications. The prices listed there are for people paying with their own money, though the site advises them to check whether they can pay less by going through insurance.
The announcement Tuesday was the second major expansion of TrumpRx in as many months. President Trump last month announced that TrumpRX added more than 600 generic medications to the website.
The administration has been promoting its deals with drug companies, known as “most favored nation” pricing, which means the drugs are sold in America at the much lower price they sell for in other nations.
Mr. Trump and other Republicans hope the emphasis on lower-cost medicines will help address affordability concerns ahead of what’s expected to be a brutal midterm election this fall.
The White House Council of Economic Advisers estimates that the most favored nation drugs will save Americans more than $500 billion over the next decade.
A generic drug is an FDA-approved pharmaceutical that is identical to a brand-name but cheaper because they are based on expired patents of existing drugs, so they do not require the massive research and development costs of a new drug.
