The White House is accelerating the battle over drug prices and turning TrumpRx into a political as well as health showcase. With the addition of over 600 generic medicines, Donald Trump is relaunching the government website created to offer discounted drugs to Americans, while the issue of healthcare costs becomes increasingly central ahead of the midterm elections.
The administration claims hundreds of billions of dollars in potential savings and presents the platform as a historic breakthrough for consumers. But behind the expansion, supported by Amazon Pharmacy, GoodRx, and Mark Cuban’s Cost Plus Drugs, concrete questions remain: who will really save and how much the prices offered are actually more affordable compared to health insurance or other existing channels?
THE NEW DRUGS ADDED TO TRUMPRX
With the update announced at the White House, TrumpRx goes from just over 70 medicines to more than 600 generic drugs available through the government portal. Among the added products are very common medicines such as atorvastatin for cholesterol, lisinopril for hypertension, metformin for diabetes, antibiotics, statins, and clopidogrel, used as an anticoagulant.
According to the New York Times, about 90% of prescriptions in the United States involve generic drugs and many of the medicines added to the platform are priced under $5. The White House specified that controlled substances, those subject to special risk management programs imposed by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and medicines not commonly available through direct-to-consumer sales will remain excluded.
Before the expansion, TrumpRx included mainly brand-name drugs linked to agreements signed by the administration with 17 major pharmaceutical companies, including the anti-obesity treatments Ozempic and Wegovy from Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly and fertility drugs.
THE ALLIANCE WITH AMAZON, GOODRX AND (THE FORMER ENEMY) MARK CUBAN
The platform’s expansion was made possible thanks to collaboration with Amazon Pharmacy, GoodRx, and Cost Plus Drugs, the company founded by billionaire Mark Cuban specializing in selling generic drugs at low prices. Cuban stated that 559 of the approximately 600 new medicines on the platform will come directly from his company.
Cuban’s presence at the event attracted particular attention also due to his political relationship with Trump. The entrepreneur, former TV personality and owner of the Dallas Mavericks, recalls AP, had publicly supported Kamala Harris in the 2024 presidential elections and was one of the most outspoken critics of the former president during the campaign. Despite this, in recent months Cuban has openly supported the TrumpRx project and the administration’s efforts to reduce prescription drug costs.
Cost Plus Drugs, founded in 2022, today offers over 2,300 medicines and applies a 15% markup on drug prices, shipping prescriptions directly to patients. In several cases, TrumpRx will direct users precisely to Cuban’s platform.
HOW MUCH TRUMPRX SHOULD SAVE
TrumpRx does not sell drugs directly. The site functions as a hub that directs users to online pharmacies, pharmaceutical company websites, or coupons usable at traditional pharmacies. The system is mainly designed for consumers who buy medicines paying cash and without using health insurance.
Among the new features introduced, reports USA Today, are tools that allow comparing prices between independent pharmacies and large chains in one’s neighborhood, as well as the possibility to request home delivery for some medicines.
Trump stated that the platform has already exceeded 10 million visits and generated over $400 million in savings for Americans. The White House also claims that the administration’s drug pricing policies could produce $529 billion in domestic savings over the next decade, while Reuters cites an estimate of $64.3 billion in federal and state savings over ten years thanks to negotiated deals with pharmaceutical companies.
DOUBTS ABOUT REAL SAVINGS FOR PATIENTS
The real economic impact for consumers remains uncertain. Reuters points out that purchases made through TrumpRx generally are not counted toward insurance deductibles, because the platform is mainly intended for those who buy medicines without going through their health insurance. As explained Rena Conti, professor at Boston University’s Questrom School of Business, for most insured Americans continuing to use their health coverage is often more convenient than the prices offered through TrumpRx. Greater benefits could instead concern people without insurance or with high deductibles.
Similar doubts have been expressed by Sean Sullivan, professor of health economics at the University of Washington: “Consumers can probably get cheaper versions of these drugs through health insurance and traditional pharmacies, or through direct-pay services like Cost Plus Drugs, compared to the offers on TrumpRx.”
Conti herself highlighted how the project risks further increasing the complexity of the American healthcare system: “Healthcare in the United States is extremely complicated, and the prescription drug distribution system is also very complex. This initiative has added complexity instead of reducing it.”
Reuters also noted that some prices on the TrumpRx site are still higher than those available in the United Kingdom, despite Trump’s promise to make American drugs “the cheapest in the world.”
THE POLITICAL WEIGHT OF THE DRUG CAMPAIGN
The expansion of TrumpRx comes as the Republican administration tries to turn the issue of drug costs into one of the pillars of the campaign for the midterm elections. According to polls cited by KFF, the cost of healthcare remains one of the main economic concerns of American voters.
