Questionable White House Math On Savings From Most Favored Nation Drug Prices

InnovationHealthcareQuestionable White House Math On Savings From Most Favored Nation Drug PricesByJoshua P. Cohen,Senior Contributor.Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Joshua Cohen is a Boston-based writer who covers health policy.Follow AuthorMay 07, 2026, 03:11pm EDT--:-- / --:--This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.WASHINGTON, DC - SEPT. 30, 2025: President Trump shakes hands with Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla as he announces a deal with the company to lower Medicaid drug prices. The Trump administration has reportedly reached confidential agreements with 17 pharmaceutical companies to voluntarily sell some of their medications through Medicaid at lower prices that align with those paid in peer nations. And now the White House has issued a report claiming the potential for massive cost savings from MFN deals. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)Getty ImagesThe White House issued a report this week touting massive projected cost savings — more than $500 billion over a ten-year period — from so-called most favored nation deals in which U.S. net prices for prescription drugs are pegged to those in comparably wealthy countries. The estimates are largely speculative and based on implausible modeling assumptions.All presidential administrations want to put themselves in the best possible light. The Trump administration is no different in this regard. But when it comes to hyperbole and the tendency to exaggerate positive outcomes, it seems that no administration in modern times has ever done it quite like President Trump’s.In relation to MFN drug pricing, for example, when Trump declares, “now you have the lowest drug prices anywhere in the world,” it doesn’t stand up to scrutiny. Specifically, research reveals the falsity of the administration’s claims when it touts its online platform TrumpRx as offering Americans the world’s lowest prices on certain prescription drugs.Th...