Ever picked up a prescription at the pharmacy and nearly dropped it when you saw the price tag? You’re not alone.
Americans pay more—sometimes a lot more—for the same medicines that people in other countries get for a fraction of the cost.
President Donald Trump says enough is enough.
On May 11, 2025, Trump took to X to announce he’s bringing back a policy he first tried during his first term: the Most Favored Nation (MFN) policy.
This time, Trump says it’s going to be bigger, tougher, and deliver savings fast.
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) May 11, 2025
The United States is home to some of the most advanced medicines in the world, but it comes with a catch: we pay some of the highest prices anywhere on the planet.
A 2024 study by RAND backs this up. It found that U.S. brand-name drug prices are more than four times higher than what folks in 33 other wealthy countries pay.
It’s not just about greed, though. Drug companies argue they have to charge more here to pay for research and development (R&D).
Sure, new drugs cost money to make. A 2020 JAMA study said the average cost to develop a new drug is $2.6 billion.
But as Trump and many others point out, Big Pharma has been raking in sky-high profits while charging Americans the most.
And they spend big to keep it that way.
In 2017 alone, companies like Mylan spent $2.7 million lobbying against laws to lower prices, according to a 2020 CREW report.
Trump’s MFN policy is pretty simple to understand. Under his plan, America would no longer pay more for drugs than other rich countries.
If Germany gets a drug for $500 a month and we’re paying $2,000, we’d pay $500, too.
Trump says this will cut prices by 30% to 80% almost right away.
He’s also pushing hard for generics—those are copycat versions of brand-name drugs that cost up to 90% less, according to White House data.
In April, Trump signed an order to make more generics and biosimilars (which are like generics for complex drugs) available faster.
Sounds great—what’s the catch?
When Trump tried this plan back in 2020, it hit a brick wall in the courts.
Judges said the plan skipped the usual public input process. Then, the Biden administration scrapped it altogether in 2021.
And let’s be honest—Big Pharma isn’t going to give up their gold mine without a fight.
Drug companies are expected to sue again. They also might play games, like raising prices in other countries or hiding discounts behind closed-door deals, something they already do in Europe.
Critics from the left and right also warn that price controls could scare off companies from investing in new cures.
PhRMA, the industry’s lobby group, claimed policies like MFN might result in 56 fewer new drugs over the next decade.
Even some conservatives are nervous. They point out that Republicans usually fight against price controls, not for them. They fear this could feel like government overreach.
So, is this going to work?
Trump says it will, and fast.
He signed the Executive Order on May 12, 2025, and says it will save trillions for taxpayers and bring down out-of-pocket costs at the pharmacy counter.
But the reality is, it’s going to be a long fight.
Pharma giants will push back in court. Congress might have to step in for some parts of the plan to stick.
And drug companies might try to make Americans pay in other ways—like cutting access to some drugs or slowing innovation.
Critics say Trump’s plan is unrealistic and could backfire. But for families struggling to afford insulin, arthritis meds, or cancer treatments, Trump’s plan at least offers hope that someone is finally standing up to Big Pharma.
This article was written with the assistance of AI. Please verify information and consult additional sources as needed.
