Trump signs order aimed at lowering drug prices

President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed an executive order aimed at lowering drug prices, saying "[i]t is time to restore the progress our Nation made in my first term to deliver lower prescription drug prices by putting Americans first and making America healthy again."

The order directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services to create a plan for the Medicare Drug Price Negotiation Program and to told the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to coordinate with HHS on a plan to reduce Medicare Part D premiums.

Trump also ordered HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., to create a plan to improve Medicare's ability to "obtain better value for high-cost prescription drugs and biological products."

Trump further took aim at middlemen involved in the sale of pharmaceuticals and directed staff to address their role in the "value chain."