Drug Pricing
			Commentary				
			
		Cheap Drugs from Canada Can’t Make America Healthy
			The U.S. Food and Drug Administration just announced plans to help states and Indian tribes purchase certain prescription drugs from Canada, where brand-name medicines tend to be cheaper because the government caps their price. The new guidance is part of a larger Trump administration effort to cut drug prices for ...		
					
					
			
																				
			Sally C. Pipes		
				
																						
			July 11, 2025		
				
					
			Commentary				
			
		As PBMs Drive Up Drug Prices, Silence Is Not Golden
			The Trump administration has been mum in recent weeks on its “most favored nation” drug pricing plan, which broadly aims to link U.S. prices for medicines to the lowest prices in other developed countries. It’s unclear what those prices will be, how they’ll be determined, or how the administration will ...		
					
					
			
																				
			Sally C. Pipes		
				
																						
			July 9, 2025		
				
					
			Commentary				
			
		A Promising New AIDS Drug Highlights The Dangers Of Price Controls
			The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a shot last month that effectively prevents HIV. At-risk people simply need to receive the injection every six months. The new drug, called lenacapavir, comes almost exactly 44 years after the first case of AIDS was reported by what’s now known as the ...		
					
					
			
																				
			Sally C. Pipes		
				
																						
			July 7, 2025		
				
					
			Commentary				
			
		Price Controls On Doctors Are Costing Patients Dearly
			Just like the December 2024 continuing resolution, the current budget reconciliation bill fails to address the problem of Medicare reimbursing physicians at below market rates. Without a fix, the inevitable consequences will be worsening doctor shortages, declining healthcare quality, higher overall healthcare spending, and the accelerated loss of independent practices. ...		
					
					
			
																				
			Wayne H Winegarden		
				
																						
			June 23, 2025		
				
					
			Commentary				
			
		A Real and Present Threat to Alzheimer’s Patients
			It’s a quintessential government outcome. A program intended to increase access to promising medical innovations is actually preventing Medicare beneficiaries from receiving FDA-approved treatments. Medicare’s “coverage with evidence development” (CED) was never authorized by Congress. Instead, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services created the program in 2005 by leveraging ...		
					
					
			
																				
			Wayne H Winegarden		
				
																						
			June 18, 2025		
				
					
			Blog				
			
		The 340B Discounts Hospitals Receive Will Often Exceed Total Drug Prices in Europe
			Table 1: PBM Fees and Rebates Can Exceed International Prescription Medicine Prices by As Much As 900% I previously highlighted how estimated rebates and fees PBMs receive for 10 commonly used brand medicines far exceed the total prices of those medicines in eight OECD countries (see Table 1). For example, ...		
					
					
			
																				
			Wayne Winegarden		
				
																						
			June 16, 2025		
				
					
			Drug Importation				
			
		Listen to Sally Pipes on “Free the Economy” podcast
			Listen to PRI President, CEO, and Thomas W. Smith Fellow in Health Care Policy Sally C. Pipes discuss her new book The World’s Medicine Chest (Encounter Books) on the Free the Economy podcast from the Competitive Enterprise Institute. Click here to listen		
					
					
			
																				
			Pacific Research Institute		
				
																						
			June 13, 2025		
				
					
			Drug Pricing				
			
		D.C.’s Embrace of Price Controls Bad News for Patients
			President Trump announced his intention last month to peg U.S. drug prices to those that foreign governments have set within their borders. The very same day, federal officials said they’d reveal in February 2026 a list of 15 drugs subject to price controls through Medicare’s Part B outpatient benefit and ...		
					
					
			
																				
			Sally C. Pipes		
				
																						
			June 6, 2025		
				
					
			Commentary				
			
		Potential Tariffs Will Harm Patients In The Name Of Protecting Them
			Two months ago, the Commerce Department launched an investigation into whether pharmaceutical imports pose a threat to national security (i.e., a Section 232 investigation). Not only are the investigation’s accusations groundless, implementing the proposed remedy – more tariffs – will create the very problems that the investigation hopes to avoid. ...		
					
					
			
																				
			Sally C. Pipes		
				
																						
			May 29, 2025		
				
					
			Commentary				
			
		Tying U.S. Drug Prices To Foreign Markets Risks Innovation And Lives
			Earlier this month, President Donald Trump signed what he called “one of the most consequential Executive Orders in our Country’s history.” The order is essentially an updated version of his administration’s 2020 “Most Favored Nation” policy. It directs pharmaceutical companies to tie the U.S. prices of their drugs to the ...		
					
					
			
																				
			Sally C. Pipes		
				
																						
			May 27, 2025		
				
					Cheap Drugs from Canada Can’t Make America Healthy
			The U.S. Food and Drug Administration just announced plans to help states and Indian tribes purchase certain prescription drugs from Canada, where brand-name medicines tend to be cheaper because the government caps their price. The new guidance is part of a larger Trump administration effort to cut drug prices for ...		
					As PBMs Drive Up Drug Prices, Silence Is Not Golden
			The Trump administration has been mum in recent weeks on its “most favored nation” drug pricing plan, which broadly aims to link U.S. prices for medicines to the lowest prices in other developed countries. It’s unclear what those prices will be, how they’ll be determined, or how the administration will ...		
					A Promising New AIDS Drug Highlights The Dangers Of Price Controls
			The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a shot last month that effectively prevents HIV. At-risk people simply need to receive the injection every six months. The new drug, called lenacapavir, comes almost exactly 44 years after the first case of AIDS was reported by what’s now known as the ...		
					Price Controls On Doctors Are Costing Patients Dearly
			Just like the December 2024 continuing resolution, the current budget reconciliation bill fails to address the problem of Medicare reimbursing physicians at below market rates. Without a fix, the inevitable consequences will be worsening doctor shortages, declining healthcare quality, higher overall healthcare spending, and the accelerated loss of independent practices. ...		
					A Real and Present Threat to Alzheimer’s Patients
			It’s a quintessential government outcome. A program intended to increase access to promising medical innovations is actually preventing Medicare beneficiaries from receiving FDA-approved treatments. Medicare’s “coverage with evidence development” (CED) was never authorized by Congress. Instead, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services created the program in 2005 by leveraging ...		
					The 340B Discounts Hospitals Receive Will Often Exceed Total Drug Prices in Europe
			Table 1: PBM Fees and Rebates Can Exceed International Prescription Medicine Prices by As Much As 900% I previously highlighted how estimated rebates and fees PBMs receive for 10 commonly used brand medicines far exceed the total prices of those medicines in eight OECD countries (see Table 1). For example, ...		
					Listen to Sally Pipes on “Free the Economy” podcast
			Listen to PRI President, CEO, and Thomas W. Smith Fellow in Health Care Policy Sally C. Pipes discuss her new book The World’s Medicine Chest (Encounter Books) on the Free the Economy podcast from the Competitive Enterprise Institute. Click here to listen		
					D.C.’s Embrace of Price Controls Bad News for Patients
			President Trump announced his intention last month to peg U.S. drug prices to those that foreign governments have set within their borders. The very same day, federal officials said they’d reveal in February 2026 a list of 15 drugs subject to price controls through Medicare’s Part B outpatient benefit and ...		
					Potential Tariffs Will Harm Patients In The Name Of Protecting Them
			Two months ago, the Commerce Department launched an investigation into whether pharmaceutical imports pose a threat to national security (i.e., a Section 232 investigation). Not only are the investigation’s accusations groundless, implementing the proposed remedy – more tariffs – will create the very problems that the investigation hopes to avoid. ...		
					Tying U.S. Drug Prices To Foreign Markets Risks Innovation And Lives
			Earlier this month, President Donald Trump signed what he called “one of the most consequential Executive Orders in our Country’s history.” The order is essentially an updated version of his administration’s 2020 “Most Favored Nation” policy. It directs pharmaceutical companies to tie the U.S. prices of their drugs to the ...