TIWN
Washington, July 25 (TIWN) US President Donald Trump has signed four executive orders aimed at cutting prescription drug prices, which would allow discounts and import of cheaper drugs from abroad.
The orders signed Friday afternoon included allowing certain drugs to be imported from Canada and making changes to the way discounts negotiated by middlemen called pharmacy benefit managers are passed on to Medicare patients.
The most radical order involves requiring Medicare to pay the same price for some drugs — the ones patients receive in the hospital as part of Medicare Part B — that other countries pay. However, Trump said he is giving the pharmaceutical industry until Aug. 24 to make a deal with him before he implements it.
"We may not need to implement the fourth executive order, which is a very tough order," he said.
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