President Donald Trump says prescription drug prices will drop in a matter of weeks due to an executive order he signed.
The order calls on the Department of Health and Human Services, led by Robert F. Kennedy Jr., to broker lower prices for drugs.
If a deal isn't reached, a new rule will kick in that will tie the price of what the U.S. pays for medications to lower prices paid by other countries.
"We are going to now get a reduction in drug costs of up to 89% in some cases, but 50% would be a low, a bad number," Trump said at an event Thursday. "It's going to be massive numbers.
"It's going to be incredible for Medicaid, incredible for all forms of healthcare. Medicare is going to be — it's going to have a huge impact, so big that nobody can calculate it. You can have, within a period of weeks, you can have drug costs that drop like a rock."
The nation's leading pharmaceutical lobby has opposed the executive order, calling it a bad deal for Americans. Drugmakers have long argued that any threats to their profits could adversely affect the research they do to develop new drugs.
"Importing foreign prices will cut billions of dollars from Medicare with no guarantee that it helps patients or improves their access to medicines," Stephen J. Ubl, CEO of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, said in a statement. "It jeopardizes the hundreds of billions our member companies are planning to invest in America, making us more reliant on China for innovative medicines."
Trump vowed to fire Kennedy and Mehmet Oz, administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, if prices don't come down.
"You can have, within a period of weeks, you can have drug costs that drop like a rock," Trump said. "I have great confidence. And if you don't do it, I am firing every single one. Good luck, guys."
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
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