WASHINGTON — U.S. prescription drug prices are falling at their fastest rate in 63 years and could decline further, Medicare chief Mehmet Oz said Sunday.
Oz, Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said the decline is accelerating as the Trump administration pushes to align U.S. drug prices more closely with those charged in Europe and Asia.
“Well, I think drug prices are going to continue to drop. This is just what the doctor ordered,” Oz told CBS News.
The U.S. Consumer Price Index showed prescription drug prices fell 3.1% from a year earlier in July. The figure included generic drugs, which also contributed to the decline.
Oz said affordability remains a major problem, noting that about one in three Americans prescribed a branded drug leaves the pharmacy without filling it because of cost.
He said U.S. patients have often paid roughly three times as much as consumers in other countries for identical medicines, including drugs manufactured in the United States.
The administration has promoted a Most-Favored-Nation pricing policy that seeks to tie U.S. prices to lower prices available overseas. Oz said 17 companies representing about 85% of the pharmaceutical sector had agreed to the approach.
“We’re not telling companies what they can charge. We’re saying, whatever you charge overseas, you got to charge here. No more of this global freeloading,” he said.
Oz said the agreements have not hurt drugmakers, arguing that their combined market value has risen as investors gained more certainty over pricing.
He pointed to GLP-1 medications used for diabetes and weight management, saying eligible Medicare beneficiaries can now obtain them for $50 a month, compared with more than $1,000 previously.
Oz also said fertility drug prices had fallen by about 90%.
Under the administration’s policy, new medicines introduced in the United States by participating large pharmaceutical companies would also be offered at Most-Favored-Nation prices.
Oz additionally credited drug-price negotiations authorized by a 2022 law enacted during the Biden administration, saying the government is using multiple tools to lower costs.
“Drug prices and affordability are bipartisan beneficial issues,” he said. “But every tool I have, including these negotiations, we will use.” (Source: IANS)
