I think this Trump EO is probably largely because of the GLP drugs. So many people are obese and the US is the only country where these drugs cost ~$1k/month. In most other countries, it costs under $100/month to use them.
If Medicare/Medicaid are using these drugs (which they definitely are, at least for diabetes control), they're paying out the wazoo for something that costs 1/10th as much elsewhere.
There are lots of drugs that are overpriced, but this specific category has the unique combo of a) being relatively inexpensive to produce, b) having a total addressable market in the low billions of consumers, c) being taken essentially for life, and d) having a four-figure monthly price tag. Today something like 6 million Americans take these drugs, which means they're spending $6B/month on them. They could be spending $600M. That's a huge amount of money saved. The government has got to be thinking about the total costs of these meds applied to the various welfare recipients it supports, and also has to realize that the medical costs of more people being fat probably outweigh (heh) a $100/mo drug, but might be a tossup at $1000/mo.
These GLP-1 receptor agonist molecules aren't even that special. There are now half a dozen or more that all seem to work pretty much the same. If it weren't for drug testing requirements that mean that any late entrants with new molecules have to prove their new molecules are not just equivalent to but better than previously available ones, we'd have a real free market with 50 different molecules and they'd have to actually compete on price. Drug trials are set up to reward companies that do whatever it takes to be the first company awarded approval.
Even if it's being done for this particular category of weight loss/glucose regulating drugs, I think a lot of people will benefit. I know an awful lot of people who have had to skip out on getting needed medications because of the high cost. Cousin with MS was able to halt its progression entirely, but when her insurance lapsed, turned out the cost of the biologics she was on to keep healthy was in the mid-five figure range. She went off it until she got a new job, but in that time had a relapse. Friend of mine from high school's brother is dead because of that couple of years where asthma inhaler prices went sky high. It's really fucking wrong when half this stuff can be purchased from Mexican or Indian pharma for pennies.
