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Nine more drugmakers sign Trump Medicaid pricing deals, bringing total to 26

Political Guyentist · September 1, 20263 min read

NBC NEWS

The nine midsize firms pledged $19.6 billion in U.S. manufacturing; no drug, price or savings figure has been released.

Nine pharmaceutical companies agreed to offer medicines at discounted prices to every state Medicaid program, raising the announced total from 17 companies to 26. The system links U.S. prices to lower prices in other developed countries, where prescription drugs cost nearly one-third as much. Trump said participating companies represent 90% of the domestic pharmaceutical market. The nine new firms also pledged $19.6 billion for U.S. manufacturing, though the sources give no earlier total for comparison. No source identifies the resulting savings for patients or governments. Medicaid already receives discounts required by law, and its enrollees generally have limited prescription copays. Trump called the terms "a tremendous discount" and said the remaining companies "have no choice" but to join.

What the deals do not sayWhich medicines are covered, and at what price — the White House lists only disease categories, not drugs.3 details
  • Which medicines are covered, and at what price — the White House lists only disease categories, not drugs.
  • How much of the $19.6 billion is new: CSL's pledge rests on a $1.5 billion expansion it has been building toward since 2018, and Kyowa Kirin's North Carolina plant broke ground in August 2024.
  • What "90% of the market" measures — revenue, prescriptions, units or covered drugs. No denominator has been published.

What we’re less sure of4 of 7 claims

Red take

Medicaid is the wrong place to look for the payoff: the statutory rebate often already exceeds the most-favored-nation price, and part of the $19.6 billion — CSL's expansion, Kyowa Kirin's 2024 groundbreaking — was committed before any deal. What 26 companies have conceded is the benchmark itself, that a U.S. price near three times what other developed countries pay cannot be defended, and that concession now covers 90% of the market instead of sitting in litigation for years.

Blue take

Grant that a signed most-favored-nation benchmark across 26 companies is leverage no rule would have won this fast. But leverage no one can audit is not a price cut: no drug, price or covered list has been published, Teva has agreed only to an "intent to reach agreement," and the $19.6 billion in manufacturing counts plants already under construction. Medicaid enrollees pay little at the counter, so the gain, if it arrives, lands in government budgets no one can check against a model.

Related reading

The CMS document describes the rebate process that states would use to apply most-favored-nation pricing to Medicaid drugs.