President Donald Trump has rescinded multiple executive orders signed by former President Joe Biden, including Executive Order 14087, which aimed to lower prescription drug costs for Americans. The move has drawn criticism from Democrats, who accuse Trump of breaking his campaign promise to reduce healthcare costs and benefiting pharmaceutical companies at the expense of seniors and working families. Among the key components of Executive Order 14087 were the Medicare $2 Drug List Model, which sought to cap certain generic drug prices at $2 for Medicare beneficiaries, the Cell and Gene Therapy Access Model, designed to improve access to high-cost therapies, and the Accelerating Clinical Evidence Model, focused on expediting the availability of effective treatments.
The potential impact of rescinding this executive order includes halted development of cost-reduction models, potential increases in out-of-pocket expenses for Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, and uncertainty regarding future drug pricing policies. Democratic National Committee rapid response director Alex Floyd released a statement saying, “Donald Trump is already following through on his dangerous plans to jack up the costs of drugs to appease his billionaire backers after the Biden-Harris administration took on Big Pharma and won.
Trump halts drug cost reforms
Trump is again proving that he lied to the American people and doesn’t care about lowering costs—only what’s best for himself and his ultra-rich friends.”
Trump also reversed other Biden-era healthcare policies, such as extending the Affordable Care Act’s open enrollment period, expanding Medicaid eligibility for postpartum women, and increasing healthcare outreach funding to states. However, key Biden policies, such as a $35 monthly cap on insulin and Medicare’s drug price negotiation provisions, were not targeted by these executive actions. Larry Levitt, executive vice president of health policy at KFF, noted that some of the policies eliminated had previously aligned with Trump’s goals, possibly indicating a shift in priorities.
It remains to be seen whether the Trump administration will support Medicare negotiating drug prices, a key provision in Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act. Arthur Caplan, head of the division of medical ethics at the NYU Grossman School of Medicine, believes Trump is cautiously approaching health care costs, leaving major Biden initiatives untouched for now. Caplan expressed hope that Trump will maintain the Medicare negotiation provision, noting that for now, Trump appears to be addressing health care costs with minimal changes.