All 50 states join Trump's Medicaid drug pricing plan

President Donald Trump announced that all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico will take part in his most-favored-nation drug pricing scheme for Medicaid, the health program for low-income Americans.

The White House Council of Economic Advisers estimates the initiative could save state governments $27.6bn and the federal government $36.6bn over the next decade, a combined total of more than $64bn.

The US pays more for prescription drugs than any other country, often almost three times as much as other developed nations. Trump has repeatedly said he wants to narrow that gap. His administration has struck agreements with more than two dozen drugmakers since last year, including most of the world's largest pharmaceutical groups such as Pfizer (PFE), Eli Lilly (LLY) and Novo Nordisk (NOVO B).

Under the scheme, known as the GENEROUS model, the companies have agreed to offer Medicaid lower prices on many of their drugs, in line with those paid in other developed countries. Medicaid, which is funded jointly by state and federal governments, already receives steep discounts mandated by law, and most of its beneficiaries pay little out of pocket for prescriptions. Last month, the administration announced a fresh round of pricing agreements with international pharmaceutical companies and some smaller biotech groups.

The largest savings to date have come from weight-loss drugs, with Novo and Lilly agreeing to price cuts in exchange for wider availability of their medicines through Medicare. Beyond obesity treatments, however, critics have questioned how much price relief Americans are actually receiving.

Steve Ubl, chief executive of industry lobby group PhRMA, condemned the policy as "importing foreign prices from socialist countries". He warned that it "would mean less treatments and cures and would jeopardize the hundreds of billions our member companies are planning to invest in America".

The White House has held several high-profile events with pharmaceutical executives this year to promote its efforts on healthcare costs, part of a broader push to highlight affordability ahead of midterm elections that will decide control of Congress.