President Donald Trump announced agreements with nine major pharmaceutical companies to lower the prices of certain medicines for the government’s Medicaid program, with participating firms offering “most-favored-nation” style discounts that tie pricing to levels paid in other wealthy countries. The deal also extends price cuts to some cash-paying patients, according to reporting on the announcement. In exchange, companies receive exemptions from certain tariffs under the administration’s approach, linking trade policy to healthcare affordability.

Highlights:

• Companies participating: The companies named as signing on include Bristol Myers Squibb, Gilead Sciences, Merck, Roche’s U.S. unit Genentech, Novartis, Amgen, Boehringer Ingelheim, Sanofi and GSK.
• Cost benchmark: The administration framed the effort as narrowing a wide international gap, with CNBC noting U.S. drug prices average nearly three times higher than prices overseas.
• Trade linkage: CBS reported the arrangement explicitly trades Medicaid pricing concessions for tariff exemptions, signaling a broader strategy that uses tariff tools as bargaining leverage in drug pricing talks.
• How prices vary: ABC News pointed out that what patients pay for prescriptions depends on multiple factors, underscoring why negotiated program-level pricing can matter differently across insurance types and payment methods.

Perspectives:

• White House/Trump administration: Officials presented the agreements as a way to reduce Medicaid drug spending by bringing U.S. prices closer to what other wealthy countries pay. (The Guardian)
• Participating drugmakers: Companies agreed to provide Medicaid recipients most-favored-nation discounts and, in return, receive tariff exemptions tied to the deal structure. (CBS News)
• Patients (cash payers): Reporting indicates the announcement also includes lower prices for some people paying cash for medicines, widening the potential benefit beyond Medicaid enrollees. (The Guardian)

Sources:

• Trump announces lower drug price deals with 9 pharmaceutical companies - abcnews.go.com
• Trump reaches deal with 9 major drugmakers to lower prices - cbsnews.com
• Trump strikes deal with US drugmakers to cut Medicaid medicine costs - theguardian.com
• Trump announces lower drug price deals with 9 pharmaceutical companies - AP News - google.com
• Nine of the largest pharma companies ink deals with Trump to lower drug prices - cnbc.com