Press Release - President Donald J. Trump Is Ensuring Patients Receive the Information They Need to Save Money on Prescription Drugs

HELPING PATIENTS SAVE MONEY: President Donald J. Trump is signing legislation to help give patients more information to save on their prescription drugs.

• Gag clauses prevent pharmacists from telling patients when they would pay less for drugs out of their own pocket instead of using their insurance.
• President Trump is signing legislation ending "gag clauses," following through on his promise to end these unfair clauses and help save patients money on the drugs they need.
  • The President is signing the Know the Lowest Price Act and the Patient Right to Know Drug Prices Act to end gag clauses for patients on Medicare and private plans.
  • The President's blueprint for lowering drug prices and reducing out-of-pocket costs called for an end to "gag clauses."

LOWERING DRUG PRICES: The President is working to deliver savings for American patients.

• President Trump has made lowering drug prices a priority for his Administration and has taken action to achieve this goal.
• The Food and Drug Administration approved the most generic drug applications ever in 2017.
  • These approvals saved patients an estimated $8.8 billion in 2017 alone.
  • These savings are estimated to jump to $16 billion over one full year after each generic approval in 2017.
• In May 2018, President Trump released an American Patients First blueprint to lower drug prices and reduce out-of-pocket costs.
  • This blueprint laid out strategies for reform, including improved competition, better negotiation, incentives for lower list prices, and lowering out-of-pocket costs.
• Fifteen large drug manufacturers responded to the President's blueprint by announcing price freezes, reductions, and rollbacks.
• The Trump Administration finalized changes to Medicare's payment rate for certain drugs that will save seniors an estimated $320 million in drug costs this year.

PROTECTING SENIORS' HEALTHCARE: President Trump will fight against so-called "Medicare for All" proposals that would take away benefits seniors have paid into all their lives.

• While some have rallied around a proposal that would end Medicare as we know it, President Trump will fight to ensure seniors receive the benefits into which they have paid.
  • This proposal would lead to an extreme, anti-senior, anti-choice, and anti-consumer government takeover of health care.
• This so-called "Medicare for All" proposal would establish a government run, single-payer healthcare system that experts estimate would cost $32 trillion.
  • Even doubling taxes wouldn't be enough to pay for this astonishing price-tag.
• Supporters of "Medicare for All" would have no choice but to cut benefits, raise economy-crippling taxes, or both to cover the massive cost
  • Many seniors would lose access to their favorite doctors and face long lines for appointments and procedures.
• "Medicare for All" would eliminate Medicare Advantage plans for millions of seniors and take away seniors' options for private supplemental coverage.