On April 15, President Trump signed an executive order (EO) that directs the heads of various federal agencies to take actions intended to lower the price of prescription drugs. The EO contains several directives intended to address criticisms of the Inflation Reduction Act, including the Pill Penalty, Medicare Part D redesign, prescription drug importation and the selection and negotiation process under the Drug Price Negotiation Program.

While the order focuses primarily on policy changes impacting drug prices, transparency, and federal health program reimbursement, the order alludes to potential future activity related to intellectual property, stating that it is the policy of the Trump Administration that "Federal health care programs, intellectual property protections, and safety regulations are optimized to provide access to prescription drugs at lower costs to American patients and taxpayers."

The EO in the introduction touts actions taken by the Trump Administration in his first term to lower drug prices, including the Most Favored Nations payment model that the Biden Administration cancelled. Notably absent from the EO's directives is any action related to aligning US drug prices with foreign nations. Instead, the EO includes directives to streamline the process for states to import drugs from Canada, align Medicare payments with drug acquisition costs, and test a new payment model to "improve the ability of the Medicare program to obtain better value for high-cost prescription drugs and biological products covered by Medicare."

Fact Sheet, Executive Order

Additional information is also available in the attached WCEY Alert.