Donald Trump celebrates victory over 'Big Pharma' after signing executive order to vastly reduce the cost of prescription drugs by up to 50% and says insulin has gone from 'big dollars to pennies'
'Nothing like this has ever been done before because Big Pharma, with its vast power, would not let it happen. Expensive Insulin went from big dollars to virtual pennies,' Trump bragged on Twitter on Saturday.
'Epi-pens went from their incredibly high, jacked up prices, to lower than their original give away bargains. Biggest price reductions in history, by far!'
At a White House ceremony, Trump signed four executive orders. One was about importation. The others would direct drugmaker rebates straight to patients, provide insulin and EpiPens at steep discounts to low-income people, and use lower international prices to pay for some Medicare drugs.
Trump cast his directives as far-reaching, but they mostly update earlier administration ideas that have not yet gone into effect.
'I'm unrigging the system that is many decades old,' he declared at Friday's ceremony, promising 'massive' savings.