TrumpRx promises lower drug prices but some are questioning that
The TrumpRx website is now live, which connects consumers directly with prescription drug manufacturers. The site lists 43 medications, which the Trump administration said are offered at a negotiated discounted price.
“The launch represents the largest reduction in prescription drug prices in history,” said President Trump. “The dozens of commonly available drugs today are just the beginning.”
The prescription costs listed range from about $3 to more than $2,000, depending on the medication. The White House is especially highlighting lower costs on popular weight loss drugs, such as Ozempic and Wegovy, and discounted fertility drugs.
“I was almost hopeful,” said DFL Sen. Alice Mann, who is also a family medicine physician. “I logged on and said, ‘Okay, let me put in some names of medications.’”
She added, “I started putting in very common medications that most patients say with high blood pressure or who need a blood thinner would use, so I put in lisinopril, I put in metoprolol, I put in hydrochlorothiazide, I put in Eliquis, and none of those drugs are available.”
According to the site, prescriptions listed can be purchased at pharmacies using coupon cards displayed on the site or directly through the manufacturer’s website. Medications must be paid for in cash.
“When you pay for these medications out of pocket, the amount that you’re paying does not go towards your deductible,” said Mann, who thinks the administration should’ve negotiated lower drug prices instead. “It’s a scam. It’s to say we did something to solve this problem when they did actually nothing.”
University of Minnesota College of Pharmacy Professor Jean Moon explained pharmacists will still be part of the process. According to the site, doctors are instructed to send prescriptions to a pharmacy where discounted pricing is available.
“A lot of time, if you do have insurance, it’s probably going to be cheaper for you to use your insurance,” said Moon. “Your prescription coverage, that co-pay is going to be cheaper than the prices I was seeing on the site.”
She said, however, it’s good to have another tool to provide to patients.
“I think this will be another option we can direct patients to,” said Moon. “It seems like it would be a good fit for patients who don’t have insurance or are very underinsured in their medication coverage.”
She explained it’s still important to compare prices with other sites, such as Amazon Pharmacy or GoodRx.
“Making sure they’re checking prices,” said Moon. “They do want to be shopping around, there’s different programs they may or may not qualify for.”
Given the limited selection, she said it’s unlikely a patient will be able to get all of their medications with the help of TrumpRx. Moon encourages patients to tell their local pharmacy if they do purchase a prescription through a manufacturer directly so pharmacists can make sure there are no drug interactions with anything else they’re taking.
“Make sure that your local pharmacy knows that you’re taking a different medication in a different system,” she said. “There’s just another layer of communications between all of these different systems that can occur.”
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