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Trump slammed for drug price executive order, Internet asks ‘why now and not 4 years ago? Oh, election time'

Trump's latest order comes after he signed 4 others in July, aimed at lowing drug prices. The White House reportedly told on Sunday that the president was moving forward as 'no agreement was reached' 

President Donald Trump has signed an executive order, aiming at lowering the process of prescribed drugs based on the cost of the same drugs in other nations. The POTUS took to Twitter on Sunday, September 13 to make the announcement.  

He tweeted, "Just signed a new Executive Order to LOWER DRUG PRICES! My Most Favored Nation order will ensure that our Country gets the same low price Big Pharma gives to other countries. The days of global freeriding at America’s expense are over." He added in the following tweet, "...and prices are coming down FAST! Also just ended all rebates to middlemen, further reducing prices."

Trump's latest order comes after he signed four others in July 2020, aimed at lowing drug prices. According to The Hill, the signing of the executive order was delayed to buy his administration and the pharmaceutical industry more time to look into and reach an agreement. The White House reportedly told on Sunday that the president was moving forward as "no agreement was reached."

The order requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services to “immediately” test a payment model for Medicare to pay “no more than the most-favored-nation price, suggest reports. The new proposal is said to apply to both Medicare Part B and Part D drugs and determine if the patients paying the lowest price “would mitigate poor clinical outcomes and increased” expenses. 

Meanwhile, Trump's signing of the executive order has been received critically by health professionals, who seem concerned about the impact of the lowered drug prices owing to the "risky foreign price control scheme." Michelle McMurry-Heath, CEO of the Biotechnology Innovation Organization told in a statement, "With scientists and researchers at America’s biopharmaceutical companies working around the clock to fight a deadly pandemic, it is simply dumbfounding that the Trump administration would move forward with its threat to import foreign price controls and the inevitable delays to innovation that will follow."

Even the Republicans have expressed a similar opinion about the order as they opposed the idea of "price control" on drugs, which is a Democratic proposal. Commenting on the latest executive order, Rep Lloyd Doggett said, "Trump aims to make a misleading headline for his failing campaign, not a genuine difference for victims of price gouging."

The Internet doesn't seem convinced with the executive order either as the majority of them have noted that Trump had previously made such promises but never kept up to them. One user tweeted, "Unless you are stupid, you know perfectly well that he can't lower drug prices directly. He's been saying this for years and hasn't done anything that actually worked. No health plan. No promises kept." Another added, "You goober, how many times are you going to repeat this lie? you've been telling it for over three years. we're all still waiting for prices to come down. and how about that comprehensive health care plan that you said you were going to sign in two weeks? it's been ten weeks now. 

Some of them opined that the executive order is indicative of Trump's interest n benefitting off the big pharma as it comes only weeks before the November elections. One tweeted, "President Trump issues Executive Order to lower Medicare drug prices for Seniors. This isn't Socialism, this is simply called finally reigning in the Big Pharma!" Adding to the previous tweet, one wrote, "SO let's release them when is painfully apparent Trump is losing so he can claim a 'victory' before Nov 3rd. So he can say I got drug prices down, When he could have done it 2 months ago," While one tweet read, "Why now and not 4 yrs ago, oh wait, election time."