Donald Trump claims U.S. prescription drug prices down by 600%; facts paint a different picture

During a recent interaction with the media, President Donald Trump touted that under his administration, prices of prescription drugs in the country had gone down by as much as 600%, which he believes would be enough for the GOP to be successful in the upcoming midterm elections. "Prescription drugs have come down 400 to 500 to 600% under Trump," he said. "And that alone should win us the midterms. And the Democrats will terminate it and try to blame somebody else."

The facts, however, tell a different story. According to a report in PharmExec.com, drug manufacturers increased list prices for 872 brand-name medications, with a median increase of 4% in 2024. This came after President Trump claimed that he had agreements with several drug manufacturers under the Most-Favored-Nation deals to achieve low prices of medication that citizens of other first-world countries enjoyed. Among the drugs whose prices were increased were COVID vaccine shots, treatments for cancer, Type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and more. The publication claimed in a separate report that drug expenses in the country would exceed $1 trillion in 2026.

As per Reuters, the median rate of price increases for prescription drugs in the U.S. has fallen over the past decade. What was once 9% in 2015 is now 4% in 2026. However, it has not gone down since 2025. The report also states that inflation forced major drug companies, like Pfizer, to hike prices on several products. "The modest increase is necessary to support investments that allow us to continue to discover and deliver new medicines as well as address increased costs throughout our business," the company said. Other drugmakers like GSK, Sanofi, and Novartis followed suit.

PR Newswire reported earlier this year that in 2025, prescription drug spending surged by 12.7% to $915 billion. Drugs used for weight loss, like tirzepatide and semaglutide, topped the spending charts at $60 billion each. Such drugs are categorized under GLP-1 drugs. The administration has taken steps to reduce prices, as from July 1, Medicare will cover GLP-1 drugs for weight loss only. When asked about it, the President praised his Most-Favored-Nation agreements.

"Because of Favored Nations, the drug prices have come down tremendously. And also, if you look at TrumpRx, it's been unbelievable," he said. "Take a look at what we have done in terms of Favored Nations. We paid the highest drug price in the entire world, and now we pay the lowest drug prices in the entire world. TrumpRx is a federal platform that connects a consumer directly with a drug manufacturer to help the former buy medication at lower costs.

This is not the first time President Trump has claimed that the prices of prescription medication were down by as much as 600%. During his State of the Union address earlier this year, he touted the launch of TrumpRx.gov and claimed that he was ending the "wildly inflated cost of prescription drugs." "Under my just-enacted Most-Favored-Nation agreements, Americans, who have for decades paid by far the highest prices of any nation anywhere in the world for prescription drugs, will now pay the lowest prices anywhere in the world for drugs," he had said.