The legislation, titled the Most Favored Patient Act, seeks to build on a policy framework established under former President Donald Trump that encourages pharmaceutical companies to offer the same low prices in the United States that they provide to other nations.
According to Meuser’s office, the bill would incentivize drug manufacturers to negotiate Most Favored Nation (MFN) pricing agreements with the federal government. Under the proposal, manufacturers that choose not to negotiate would be required to provide Medicare with MFN-level pricing for a period of five years.
Existing agreements created under the executive order titled “Delivering Most Favored-Nation Prescription Drug Pricing to American Patients” would automatically meet the requirements outlined in the legislation. The bill would also establish a permanent framework designed to enforce future healthcare cost-saving agreements as they are negotiated.
“For years, drug manufacturers charged Americans three times as much as patients abroad for the exact same prescription drugs, forcing our families and seniors to pick up the tab,” Meuser said in a statement. “President Trump has taken action to end that unfair system by bringing drug companies to the table and making clear that Americans, as the world’s largest purchasers of prescription drugs, deserve the lowest possible prices.”
Meuser added that agreements have already been reached with 16 major pharmaceutical manufacturers, which he said are helping deliver lower prices for medications used to treat conditions such as diabetes, asthma, arthritis, and cancer.
According to background information provided by the congressman’s office, the agreements negotiated under the policy framework are expected to generate billions of dollars in savings by lowering drug costs within Medicare and Medicaid.
The administration reported that some medications have already seen significant reductions under the negotiated pricing structure, including an 88 percent decrease in the cost of certain multiple sclerosis medications, a 90 percent decrease in the price of Hepatitis C treatments, and an 81 percent reduction in the cost of some diabetes medications.
Prior to the executive order, Americans were estimated to pay nearly three times more than patients in other developed countries for the same prescription drugs.
Supporters of the legislation say the bill would ensure those savings continue by formally establishing the MFN pricing model in federal law and maintaining lower drug costs for American patients.
The full text of the Most Favored Patient Act is available on Congressman Meuser’s website.
https://meuser.house.gov/sites/evo-subsites/meuser.house.gov/files/evo-media-document/meuspa_041_xml.pdf