Trump Expands Drug-Pricing Pact, Vows Deepest Healthcare Affordability Cuts in U.S. History

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump on Monday announced most-favored-nation drug-pricing agreements with nine more pharmaceutical companies, expanding a program he says will save Americans more than $600 billion and mark the largest drop in prescription drug prices in U.S. history. Speaking from the White House alongside Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Trump also weighed in on Iran, a new oil deal with Venezuela and rising tension with the Federal Reserve over interest rates.

"This is, to me, a really big day. One of the biggest ever, because this announcement is as big as it gets medically," Trump said. "Certainly when you talk about medical and dollars in the same sentence, this doesn't get bigger."

The nine new companies join 17 larger drugmakers already under most-favored-nation agreements, bringing the total to 26 companies covering roughly 90% of the U.S. pharmaceutical market. The program ties American drug prices to the lowest price paid by any other developed nation.

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"For decades, Americans paid the highest drug prices anywhere in the world by far. It wasn't even close," Trump said. "We were ripped off by the pharmaceutical companies, and we were ripped off more than anything by other countries throughout the world, that we never had a president that wanted to fight for us."

Trump said getting there meant pushing foreign leaders to raise their own prices. "They laughed at me when I said it, and then all of a sudden, I said it in a certain way, and they didn't laugh any longer," he said. "Now other countries are paying more so that Americans can pay less. We had to get their prices up in order to get our prices down."

He pointed to specific savings: the administration has "slashed the cost of the weight loss drugs like Ozempic by more than $1,800 per year," and "IVF patients are seeing savings on fertility drugs of more than $6,000 per birth."

Those discounts, and more than 800 medications, are listed at TrumpRx.gov, the purchasing site Trump credited to Kennedy and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz. "That was named by Bobby and Oz. That was not named by me," he said. "It's more than worked, actually. It's the hottest thing there is."

Kennedy called the deals the most significant shift in U.S. health policy since the 1962 Kefauver-Harris Amendment, passed after the thalidomide scandal.

"We are lowering prices dramatically so that Americans will be paying, instead of the highest prices in the world, the lowest prices of any developed nation in the world," he said.

Deputy HHS Secretary nominee Chris Klomp, who led the negotiations, said companies have committed $19.6 billion in new U.S. manufacturing, on top of more than $600 billion in prior reshoring pledges (officials at the event cited figures ranging from $638 billion to $668 billion for that running total).

Asked to contrast the approach with Medicare for All proposals backed by the Democratic Socialists of America, Trump dismissed the single-payer model as unworkable. "This is much bigger, much better, much less expensive, and it's something that works," he said. "I remember they tried it in Vermont, and they tried it in a few places. They went into it, and they realized it costs more money than the entire amount of money taken in."

The briefing widened from there. Trump told reporters Iran "will never have a nuclear weapon" and called the country militarily depleted. "They've got 350% inflation. They have no currency. They're not paying their soldiers," he said.

Pressed on whether he had ruled out a nuclear strike, he said he had. "What a stupid question that is, actually," Trump said. "They're totally defeated militarily. So now I defeat them, and now I should use a nuclear weapon on top of them?"

On the new Venezuela oil agreement, Trump predicted lower prices for American drivers eventually, but wouldn't commit to a timeline before November's midterms. "Ultimately, prices are going to come down," he said. "Will it happen before the election? I can't tell you that."

Asked about Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh's signal Friday that he might raise rates, Trump said he respects Warsh but disagrees. "I think our interest rates are too high," he said. "When we're doing well, we become a better credit. When you become a better credit, you're supposed to cut rates, not raise rates."

Trump also touched on record deportation numbers, criticized New York Gov. Kathy Hochul for releasing detainees and previewed Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit later this month. "Two years ago, we had a laughing stock," Trump said. "Right now, we have the hottest country anywhere in the world."

Asked whether health care or gas prices matter more to midterm voters, Trump wouldn't pick one. "I think they're both. I think everything's important," he said. "I would say healthcare is, to me, very important. You're talking about life. It's very big."