By Paul Bean

President Donald Trump signed an executive order yesterday (5/12) implementing a “Most Favored Nation” policy that aims to align U.S. prescription drug prices with the lowest prices paid by other developed nations, potentially reducing costs between 30% and 80% on prescription drugs. 

Sen. Bernie Sanders immediately promised he would work with Trump to turn the EO into a law and challenged the president to get onboard when he introduces legislation.

The EO directs the Department of Health and Human Services to set price targets for drug manufacturers, requiring them to offer these lower prices directly to American consumers or face regulatory consequences. 

“This abuse of Americans’ generosity, who deserve low-cost pharmaceuticals on the same terms as other developed nations, must end,” says Trump’s executive order. “Americans will no longer be forced to pay almost three times more for the exact same medicines, often made in the exact same factories.  As the largest purchaser of pharmaceuticals, Americans should get the best deal.”

It also encourages importing lower-cost drugs from countries like Canada and cracking down on anti-competitive practices by drugmakers to further drive down prices. By targeting the high prices Americans pay compared to other nations, the order seeks to end the U.S. subsidizing global pharmaceutical profits, which could lead to significant savings for consumers.

In a rare move, Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), a long-time advocate for affordable prescription drugs, agreed with President Donald Trump’s assertion that Americans pay way too much for prescription drugs. However Sanders’ comments did not exclude sharp criticism of the  executive order. In a statement released Monday, Sanders called the order an empty gesture likely to be overturned in court and urged Trump to support upcoming legislation for meaningful reform.

“I agree with President Trump: It is an outrage that the American people pay, by far, the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs,” Sanders wrote in a press release Monday. “It is beyond unacceptable that we pay, in some cases, ten times more for the same exact drugs than people in other major countries.” However, he argued that the executive order fails to address the root issue, stating, “The problem is not that the price of prescription drugs is too low in Europe and Canada. The problem is that the extraordinarily greedy pharmaceutical industry made over $100 billion in profits last year by ripping off the American people.”

Sanders, the Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, warned that Trump’s “most favored nation” pricing policy, which seeks to match U.S. drug prices to those in peer nations, is unlikely to survive legal challenges, echoing a similar attempt during Trump’s first term that was blocked by a federal judge. 

“As Trump well knows, his executive order will be thrown out by the courts,” Sanders asserted in his press release, “If Trump is serious about making real change rather than just issuing a press release, he will support legislation I will soon be introducing,” he added.

Yesterday morning (5/12) in a press conference highlighting the Executive Order, Health and Human Services Secretary, Robert Kennedy Jr, praised President Trump for his bravery for issuing this executive order and his willingness to stand up to ‘oligarchs’ in the pharmaceutical industry. 

“A major Democrat Party leader for 20 years has been making this promise to the American people. This was the fulcrum of Bernie Sanders’s run’s for presidency– that he was going to eliminate this discrepancy between Europe and the United States,” said Kennedy standing next to President Trump. 

“But as it turns out none of them were doing it. It’s one of these promises politicians make to their constituents knowing that they’ll never have to do it. And the reason they’ll never do it is because they know that congress is controlled in so many ways by the pharmaceutical industry. There’s at least one pharmaceutical lobbyist for every Congressman and Senator on Capital Hill and every member of the Supreme Court, some estimates three,” said Kennedy while also pointing out that President Trump used to take money from Big Pharma, but no longer does. 

Following Trump’s inauguration in January, Sanders launched his “fighting oligarchy” campaign to rally grassroots support against the influence of billionaire ‘oligarchs’ like Donald Trump and Elon Musk, urging policies to address wealth inequality and corporate greed. 

Kenndy’s addressed the claims of “oligarchy,” made by Sanders and others saying, “Elizabeth Warren or Robert Reich are saying that President Trump is on this side of the oligarchs. There has never been a president more willing to stand up to the oligarchs than President Donald Trump,” said Kennedy. “And I’m very, very proud of you, Mr. President, for your courage. I’ll say, because I don’t want to be crude, your intestinal fortitude, your stiff spine, and your willingness to stand up for the American people.”

Kennedy continued his comments, adding, “I never thought this would happen in my lifetime… we finally have a President who’s willing to stand up for the American people.” He described the move as a “turning point” and highlighted the political courage required to confront the pharmaceutical industry, emphasizing that it prioritizes the interests of ordinary Americans.

Senator Sanders finished his press release writing, “If Republicans and Democrats can come together on this Legislation, we can get it passed in a few weeks,’ in reference to a piece of legislation he is planning to introduce in the next few days.  
A Senator Sanders and President Trump collaboration would be quite the mash up. Stay tuned for VDC updates…