Sept 18 (Reuters) – The Donald Trump administration is set to announce on Friday that all 50 states would see most-favored-nation pricing for certain drugs in Medicaid programs, Semafor reported, citing administration plans.
President Trump will host the governors of South Dakota, Mississippi and Arkansas in the Oval Office “to tout work on lower drug prices,” Semafor said.
Reuters could not immediately verify the report.
The White House and US Department of Health and Human Services did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
The US pays more for prescription drugs than any other country, often nearly thrice as much as other developed nations. Trump has repeatedly said he wants to narrow this gap.
His administration signed deals with 17 of the largest global drugmakers, including Pfizer, Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk, starting last year.
The companies agreed to offer lower prices, comparable to what is paid in other developed countries — referred to as “most-favored-nation” pricing.
Medicaid, funded jointly by state and federal governments, already draws steep discounts from drugmakers, mandated by existing law. Most people covered by the health program for low-income Americans pay little out of pocket for prescriptions.
Last month, the administration announced a new round of drug-pricing agreements with international pharmaceutical companies and some smaller biotechs.
(Reporting by Anusha Shah and Sriparna Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by Toby Chopra and Joyjeet Das)
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