<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>US President </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/donald-trump" rel="" target="" title="Donald Trump"><span>Donald Trump</span></a><span> has announced he plans to resurrect a controversial policy from his first term that aims to reduce drug costs by basing payments for certain medicines on their prices in other countries.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>His prior rule, called "Most Favoured Nation", was finalised in late 2020 but blocked by federal courts and rescinded by then-President Joe Biden in 2021.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>It would have applied to Medicare payments for certain drugs administered in doctors' offices.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/liberals-to-vote-for-new-leader-as-tim-wilson-weighs-up-challenge/bb67be78-60a3-405b-b193-8966626fb368" rel="" target="" title="Surprise contender to enter Liberal leadership race"><strong><span>Surprise contender to enter Liberal leadership race</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>However, it is unclear what payments or drugs the new directive would apply to.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>In a Truth Social post, Trump said he plans to sign an executive order on Monday morning that he argues would drastically lower drug prices.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I will be signing one of the most consequential Executive Orders in our Country's history. Prescription Drug and Pharmaceutical prices will be REDUCED, almost immediately, by 30% to 80%," he wrote.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/world/trump-announces-hell-sign-executive-order-that-aims-to-cut-drug-prices/e460c622-35b9-4d29-a28c-a988c1a5d8c6" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I will be instituting a MOST FAVORED NATION'S POLICY whereby the United States will pay the same price as the Nation that pays the lowest price anywhere in the World."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The directive comes as the Trump administration is also looking to impose tariffs on pharmaceutical imports, which had been exempted from such levies enacted during the president's first term.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The tariffs could exacerbate shortages of certain drugs, particularly generic medicines, and eventually raise prices.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/fatal-car-crash-clayton-two-dead-melbourne-victoria/ce451c80-faba-4c43-95db-602fcd6a73b8" rel="" target="" title="Two killed in crash after horror weekend on Victoria roads"><strong><span>Two killed in crash after horror weekend on Victoria roads</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="styles__Wrapper-sc-2o34ro-0 cmwkBV"><div class="styles__Column-sc-2o34ro-3 jJDKrX"><a href="/content/2025/03/11/16/41/donald-trump-billionaires-lost-money-supporters-in-pictures"><img alt="Guests including Mark Zuckerberg, Jeff Bezos, Sundar Pichai and Elon Musk, arrive before the 60th Presidential Inauguration in the Rotunda of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, Monday, Jan. 20, 2025. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson, Pool)" sizes="(min-width: 1024px) 636px, (min-width: 768px) 396px, 100vw" src="https://imageresizer.static9.net.au/hH_9HUsYX7dlj6gTq5XRvApWp80=/0x0:6215x3495/396x223/https%3A%2F%2Fprod.static9.net.au%2Ffs%2Fd0992c21-e070-40e4-9ae7-852a286590b9" srcset="https://imageresizer.static9.net.au/hH_9HUsYX7dlj6gTq5XRvApWp80=/0x0:6215x3495/396x223/https%3A%2F%2Fprod.static9.net.au%2Ffs%2Fd0992c21-e070-40e4-9ae7-852a286590b9 396w, https://imageresizer.static9.net.au/3QFl8nd09HtmSNA7zcq4bN3jwBI=/0x0:6215x3495/636x358/https%3A%2F%2Fprod.static9.net.au%2Ffs%2Fd0992c21-e070-40e4-9ae7-852a286590b9 636w"/></a></div><div class="styles__Column-sc-2o34ro-3 jJDKrX"><div class="styles__Headline-sc-2o34ro-4 hpbOlz">Trump-backing billionaires poised to lose nearly a trillion dollars in two days</div><div class="styles__Button-sc-2o34ro-1 eBjlmW"><a class="styles__ButtonLink-sc-2o34ro-2 hqpklJ" href="/content/2025/03/11/16/41/donald-trump-billionaires-lost-money-supporters-in-pictures">View Gallery</a></div></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>If the new executive order is comparable to the 2020 rule, both Medicare and its beneficiaries could see savings.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But it could also limit patients' access to medications, experts said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Much depends on how the policy is structured.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Although lowering drug prices was a major talking point of his first administration, Trump has not focused on the topic as much this term.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>And his campaign told </span><em><span>Politico</span></em><span> last year that he had moved away from the "Most Favored Nation" model, which many Republicans strongly oppose.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But the administration revived the idea recently as a potential way to meet deep spending cut targets for Medicaid in the House GOP's sweeping tax and spending cuts package.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/trump-to-accept-luxury-jet-from-qatar-to-use-as-air-force-one/5b3f8f22-ab6f-4cd5-bd53-80a0ec3858cc" rel="" target="" title="Trump set to accept $620m 'gift' from Qatar"><strong><span>Trump set to accept $620m 'gift' from Qatar</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>However, it's unclear whether the proposal will be included in the legislation, the details of which should be announced shortly, or whether it would be covered by the executive order.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The initiative will likely face stiff opposition from the pharmaceutical industry, which successfully halted the first iteration.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The Trump administration introduced the idea of tying Medicare's drug reimbursements to the prices in other countries in 2018 and finalised the rule just after the 2020 election.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The seven-year model would have allowed the US to piggyback on discounts negotiated by other peer countries, which typically pay far less for medications in large part because their governments often determine the cost.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Under the 2020 initiative, Medicare would have paid the lowest price available among those peer countries for 50 Part B drugs that are administered in doctors' offices.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The administration estimated it would have saved about US$86 billion ($133.8 billion).</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>At the time, Medicare was barred from negotiating drug prices, but that changed with the 2022 passage of the Democrats' Inflation Reduction Act, which gave Medicare the historic power to bargain over prices for a small number of drugs annually.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>A "Most Favored Nation" proposal could save beneficiaries' money in their out-of-pocket costs and their premiums, which are both affected by the price of drugs, experts said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/how-to-follow-9news-digital/29855bb1-ad3d-4c38-bc25-3cb52af1216f" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP</span></em></strong></a><strong><em><span>:</span></em></strong><span> </span><em><strong><span>Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. 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