Partly True: Donald Trump signed a 'Favored Nations' clause to lower American Drug prices.

By: Suchita Goel
August 26 2020

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President Trump announced that he is signing the 'Most Favoured Nation' order, but so far, it has not been released or put into effect. On July 24, 2020, U.S. President Donald Trump announced that he is signing four orders to significantly lower the cost of prescription drugs while increasing access to life-saving medications. The first order directs federally qualified health centers to give massive discounts on insulin and epinephrine from drug companies to low-income Americans. The second-order allows the safe, legal importation of prescription drugs from countries where the price for identical drugs is lower. The third order prohibits secret deals between drug manufacturers and pharmacy intermediaries, ensuring patients benefit from available discounts at the pharmacy counter. The fourth-order ensures the United States pays the lowest price possible among economically advanced countries for Medicare Part B drugs(Most Favoured Nation Order). The United States often spends 80 percent more for these drugs than other developed nations. Even after a month of making the announcement, the Most Favoured Nation Order- 'the granddaddy of all'- has not been released publicly. The other three orders have been published on the federal register. Professor of constitutional law at the University of Alabama- Tara Leigh Grove, said that the process for executive orders varies from administrations, but publishing it is the one big step no one skips, because that's what makes it real. Phillip J. Cooper, a professor of public administration at Portland State University and the author of 'By Order of the President,' a book about presidential documents, said that federal law required signed executive orders to be published in the Federal Register. This delay has raised questions- if the order has been signed or if a deal has been cracked with the pharmaceutical companies; Despite President Trump claiming in a tweet on August 23, that he has signed the order and Americans are going to get benefits.