WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah — On his first day in office, President Donald Trump signed multiple executive orders and even rescinded one from his predecessor, President Joe Biden, that planned to lower prescription drug costs.
The hope at the time was to phase in a cap for out-of-pocket costs at pharmacies, as well as allowing negotiations with pharmaceutical companies on costly medications.
Now that the order has been pulled back, what does that mean for those in Utah, with many already facing challenges or financial hurdles when paying for prescription drugs?
“The Biden administration was planning to have a $2 prescription plan for Medicare patients, which has been reversed now. So, it’s too early to see how this will impact patients," explained Kaleem Mohammed, a pharmacist at Olive Pharmacy in West Valley City.
Mohammed has seen a lot of changes for himself and for patients over the years.
“The patients [who are] prescribed medication over $100 dollars struggle to pay that, that’s what I have noticed," he shared. "So, it’s better to have negotiations with the PBMs and Medicare so that they don’t end up paying high prices for lifesaving medications.”
PBMs are pharmacy benefit managers, and Mohammed explained how they determine how much an insurance company pays a pharmacy for a medication, adding that recently it’s had a negative impact.
While he’s seen prescription medication prices increase over the years, Mohammed is hopeful that new negotiations could help both patients and pharmacists.
“This year I’m being very optimistic," he said. "I have high expectations from this administration. I hope they negotiate better prices with the pharmaceutical companies and PBMs so that customers and pharmacists can have a positive impact.”
In a statement shared with FOX 13 News, the Utah Department of Health and Human Services offered insight into Trump's order.
"President Trump signed 3 executive orders related to the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, one of which impacts Medicaid. The executive order that impacts Medicaid would stop efforts to develop a multi-state purchasing coalition that was seeking to reduce states’ costs on some cell and gene therapies. The executive order doesn’t change whether or not Medicaid will cover these therapies.
"We will keep our providers and members updated with new information as we continue to review executive orders that affect DHHS and learn more."
