President Donald Trump has launched TrumpRx.gov, a new government-backed website aimed at providing Americans with access to discounted prescription drugs.
Addressing high US drug costs
Speaking at the White House launch on Thursday evening, Trump said Americans have long paid far more for prescription drugs than consumers in other countries.
He described the price differences as unprecedented.
“Americans have long been paying the highest drug prices anywhere in the world, while other countries often paid pennies on the dollar for the exact same drugs,” Trump said.
“We were essentially subsidizing the entire world by hundreds of billions of dollars every year.”
He added that despite making up only a small share of the global population, Americans shoulder a disproportionate share of drug costs.
Company agreements and price cuts
In exchange for exemptions from US tariffs, participating drugmakers agreed to lower prices for the federal Medicaid programme and extend those reduced prices to cash-paying consumers through TrumpRx.
Among the companies involved are Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk, which committed to cutting prices on popular GLP-1 weight-loss drugs.
The administration said the agreements are expected to bring monthly costs for Americans down to an average range of $149 to $350.
Officials highlighted reductions across various medications, including inhalers, HIV treatments, diabetes drugs and IVF medications.
Specific examples of savings
Trump pointed to sharp reductions in several key treatments.
“Novo Nordisk will be slashing the price of Wegovy from more than $1,300 to $199,” he said.
“AstraZeneca is slashing the price of a common inhaler from $458 to $51.”
He also noted significant discounts for fertility treatments.
“We’re also delivering historic discounts for couples struggling with infertility,” Trump added, saying manufacturers would dramatically cut the cost of commonly used IVF drugs, including Gonal-F.
How TrumpRx.gov works
The TrumpRx.gov website displays discounted prescription drugs, showing users the percentage savings off the original price.
It generates a coupon for each medication that consumers can print or save to a mobile wallet.
Users present the coupon at participating pharmacies to receive the discount at checkout.
For specialty drugs, the site directs users to mail-order pharmacies that deliver medications directly to their homes.
Administration officials noted that purchases made through the website will generally not count toward insurance deductibles.
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