Donald Trump’s latest gesture toward lowering prescription drug prices — and it is mostly an empty gesture — is the ‘branded’ website, TrumpRx, which the prez unveiled last week with great fanfare. It purports to save Americans money on drugs. But it is largely another Trump gimmick, joining Trump Steaks, Trump University, Trump Sneakers, and a myriad of other schemes.
Trump Rx simply re-directs users to underwhelming (and already existing) manufacturer’s ‘discounts’ on brand‑name drugs – and is nowhere close to a serious plan to lower Americans’ drug costs. In fact, Medicare beneficiaries cannot even use these manufacturer’s discounts, and few people with private health insurance policies will benefit, either.
Senator Alex Padilla (D-CA) basically gave the site zero stars:
“This is just another Donald Trump pet project to rebrand something that already exists, take credit for it, and do nothing to actually lower healthcare prices.” – Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA)
The playbook used to unveil Trump’s latest gimmick is the same one he has used for decades. Whether it’s his (now defunct) casinos, wine, or university, the order of operations is simple: Slap the Trump name on it (preferably in gold!), declare it the best thing ever, and abandon the venture for something else before the shine wears off.
In a press conference, Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), excoriated the launch of TrumpRx:
“TrumpRx is nothing more than a glorified coupon book, and it will advance the Republican agenda to undermine affordable health care for American families.” – Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee
Senator Wyden (who was a guest on our podcast last year) nailed it. TrumpRx covers just a few dozen high-priced brand-name drugs like weight-loss meds and fertility treatments, steering uninsured patients to direct-to-consumer portals that were already out there on GoodRx or specific drug company websites.
Sen. Alex Padilla calls TrumpRx a “pet project to rebrand something that already exists and do nothing to lower prices.”
For Medicare Part D (drug coverage) enrollees — who fill most prescriptions with less expensive but equally effective generic meds — Trump Rx is basically useless. The TrumpRx discounts also don’t work with most other insurances, won’t count toward deductibles or out-of-pocket caps, and leave the real problem untouched: list prices that Big Pharma keeps jacking up. (Drugmakers welcomed the New Year by raising the prices of some 350 medications.)
While Trump Rx is a joke, President Biden’s 2022 Inflation Reduction Act – while not a cure all – enables the Medicare program to negotiate drug prices directly with Big Pharma. These negotiations have so far lowered the prices of ten high-cost prescription drugs by up to 79%, which go into effect the year following each round of negotiations. As a bonus, lower drug prices in Medicare can have a positive ripple effect on costs for everyone.
The Trump administration deserves credit for following the law and initiating the next round of negotiations with drugmakers, having announced the next 15 drugs to be put on the table for price reductions. These are real, rather than imagined, savings.
Medicare negotiations with Big Pharma under Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act have already yielded significant savings
Meanwhile, critics say that Trump’s own drug pricing gimmicks benefit Big Pharma (and perhaps his own family) more than consumers. TrumpRx, for example, exists to funnel patients to direct-to-consumer (DTC) sites and the websites of drug manufacturers. Notably, Donald Trump, Jr. sits on the board of a DTC website called BlinkRx, which offers brand-name drugs.
“BlinkRx stands to benefit from a shake-up of how patients buy drugs after President Trump urged pharmaceutical companies to sell their medicines directly to consumers. BlinkRx helps drugmakers do exactly that with a service that promises to set up direct-to-patient sales programs.” – Wall Street Journal, October 2025
Trump knows that he has failed to deliver on his “great healthcare plan.” Instead of taking bold action to truly reduce drug costs (rather than peddling so-called ‘discounts’ on exorbitant Big Pharma prices), he’s resorted to old tricks. Americans – and especially seniors on fixed incomes — deserve real relief at the pharmacy counter instead of a giant bottle of snake oil.