The Secretary of Health and Social Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., on the decree of President Donald Trump concerning medication prices, the impact on health insurance and responds to criticism of the president’s decision.
The Secretary of Health and Social Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., said that the calendar to see the American prices of medicines falling at the same level as those observed in European countries will largely depend on the cooperation of pharmaceutical companies with enthusiasm.
“There are a series of growing measures that we will take if they do not cooperate,” he said on “Varney & Co.” of Fox Business “ Monday.
“But we met the pharmaceutical companies. They admit that it was something that should have ended a long time ago, and I think they are ready to find a way to get there, and they have advantages in this executive order because we got rid of PBM (managers of pharmacy services). We got rid of the intermediaries, and it was something they wanted.”
America currently provides 75% of pharmaceutical income in the world, despite less than five percent of the world’s population, according to a White House Information Sheet.
The United States Secretary for Health and Social Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is expressed while joining US President Donald Trump at the White House Oval Office on May 05, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Anna Moneymaker / Getty Images)
During a press briefing before leaving for Saudi Arabia on Monday, President Trump cited the cost of injection -style medicines like Ozempic and Wegovy, two popular drugs that share the common basic semaglutide, used to treat the obesity and the metabolic conditions that contribute to it.
He offered the example of an anonymous friend who takes a injection style obesity medication And noticed a blatant cost difference between the United States and the United Kingdom.
“He said,” I just paid $ 88 and New York, I pay $ 1,300. What’s going on? “,” Said Trump.
“‘So I [he] Checked, and it’s the same box made in the same plant by the same company. This is the identical pill that I buy in New York. And here I pay $ 88 in London and New York, I pay $ 1,300. “”
Injectable weight loss have become a focal concern concerning the costs of prescription drugs. (Michael Soluk / UCG / Universal Images Group / Getty Images)
Kennedy also underlined the high cost of Ozempic while speaking in Varney.
“In our country, the price of the list for Ozempic is $ 1,300 per dose. In London, it is $ 88 and democratic and republican politicians have been talking for years:” We have to end these differences “. No one has had the courage to do so because of the power of the pharmaceutical hall on Capitol Hill.”
The executive decree signed on Monday requires health and social services, led by Kennedy, to request comments on the MEDICARE medication price negotiation program, which Biden administration has authorized under the law on inflation reduction and allows Medicare to engage directly in the hatching of prescription prices with pharmaceutical companies.
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The FDA commissioner, Dr. Marty Makary, discusses President Donald Trump’s plan to reduce drug prices for American consumers on “The Big Money Show”.
Medication prices have increased considerably in recent years. Between January 2022 and January 2023, prescription drug prices increased by more than 15% and reached an average of $ 590 per drug product, according to the Department of Health and human services. Of the 4,200 prescription drugs included on this list, 46% of price increases exceeded the inflation rate.
The Trump administration has established a date of 30 days to reduce the cost of prescription drugs for American patients.
Greg Wehner of Fox News Digital contributed to this report.
