Oval Office’s executive order could push up prescription drug prices

By Jennifer Porter Gore

In a flurry of executive orders signed just hours after he took office, President Donald Trump rescinded a Biden administration order on prescription drugs — a move that could hike drug prices for millions of Medicare and Medicaid enrollees.

The 47th president has upended efforts to cap out-of-pocket costs for several prescription drugs at $2 per month. CREDIT: Photo by Alexander Grey on Unsplash

At the same time, Trump also reversed Biden’s efforts to make it easier for people to enroll in Medicaid or to get insurance coverage under the Affordable Care Act.

Approximately 67 million adults have health coverage through Medicare, and 11 percent of them — just over 7 million — are Black. The vast majority of enrollees are aged 65 and older, but younger people with disabilities are also covered.

The Trump order rescinds an executive order President Joseph Biden signed in 2022 that’s intended to lower the cost of most prescription drugs. It also comes as new polling finds that half of Americans say the federal government isn’t spending enough on Medicare and Medicaid.

MSNBC reports that the new administration said the “recission order” is aimed at “deeply unpopular” and “radical” Biden policies.

Drafted in conjunction with the Inflation Reduction Act, Biden’s order instructed the federal government to negotiate some prescription drug prices, with a goal of limiting out-of-pocket prescription drug costs for people on Medicare.

Signed into law during Biden’s first term, the IRA included a cap on annual out-of-pocket prescription costs of $2,000, a rule that was to become effective this year. That law also capped insulin costs for Medicare recipients at $35 per month.

“On average, Americans pay two to three times as much as people in other countries for prescription drugs, and one in four Americans who take prescription drugs struggle to afford their medications,” Biden said when introducing the measure in 2022. “Nearly three in 10 American adults who take prescription drugs say that they have skipped doses, cut pills in half or not filled prescriptions due to cost.”

Trump’s order won’t affect this benefit since it became law through congressional action. But Biden’s executive order also identified a list of prescription drugs that Medicare and Medicaid recipients would have been able to obtain for just a $2 monthly copay. Drugs considered for that list treat diabetes, high cholesterol and thyroid issues.

Biden’s order also directed the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to find ways to lower prescription drug costs for recipients. Trump’s Executive Order overturned that move and halted efforts to improve access to high-cost cell and gene therapies.

A recent KFF Health Tracking Poll shows that just over half of respondents (51 percent) believe the rate the federal government is spending is “not enough” on Medicare, and nearly half (46 percent) say the same about the Medicaid program, according to the KFF Health Tracking Poll.

The poll finds that, while lawmakers are considering major changes to Medicaid and Medicare — including possible spending cuts — the majority of the public supports the programs. The poll also found that almost two-thirds of adults (64 percent) still support the 2010 Affordable Care Act or ACA, frequently known as Obamacare.

This story was originally published by WordinBlack.