President Donald Trump launched TrumpRx, a new website that promises Americans cheaper prescription drugs bought directly from drug companies. The president called it “one of the most transformative health care initiatives of all time” and said “there’s never been anything like it.” He said dozens of commonly used drugs would be available right away at big discounts for everyone.
According to Politico, Trump has been saying for months that Republicans should win the upcoming midterm elections because his administration made deals with 16 major drug companies. These are called most-favored nation deals. He said the new website would help patients who are currently paying very high costs for their medications.
The White House is not running a giant online pharmacy. TrumpRx does not actually sell or give out drugs itself. Instead, it helps people get discounts. The website is supported by GoodRx, a health care company that many people know from their digital discount coupons used at pharmacies. GoodRx said in a press release that they are helping “host and operationalize the pricing agreements” made between the administration and major drug companies.
The platform offers limited options and may not help most insured Americans
Right now, the site has 40 branded medicines. These first drugs come from five drug companies that signed most-favored nation agreements with the Trump administration: AstraZeneca, Eli Lilly, EMD Serono, Novo Nordisk, and Pfizer. The president said more drugs will be added soon.
Policy experts say this will not solve the drug cost crisis for most people. Jon Roffman, head of global biopharma at health consultancy ZS, said the “immediate impact, especially to affordability for patients, is probably pretty muted.” Most Americans can already get their medicines for a lower out-of-pocket cost through their private health insurance plans.
The administration has also faced criticism for his controversial movie tariff proposal that has raised concerns in other industries. The biggest problem involves deductibles, which affect millions of Americans on high-deductible health care plans.
The TrumpRx FAQ says consumers can use the website to buy drugs “in cash (outside of their insurance).” Drug pricing experts are questioning whether purchases made through TrumpRx can count toward annual deductibles under current law. If you pay cash and it does not count toward your deductible, that removes the benefit for anyone who is not completely uninsured.
Jeffrey Singer, a health policy expert at the Cato Institute, said direct-to-consumer sales can help lower prices by creating more competition. However, he said a “government-run platform isn’t necessary to achieve that goal.” Singer worried that federal involvement risks “crowding out competition and introducing political favoritism.”
Consumer advocacy group Public Citizen argues this helps Big Pharma. Peter Maybarduk, the group’s Access to Medicines director, said TrumpRx is “designed to help Big Pharma keep its prices high by diluting the bargaining power of insurance companies, weakening an important check on pharma.” Democrats say a better approach is to expand Medicare drug price negotiations.
Senate Finance Committee ranking member Ron Wyden called President Trump “a paper tiger when it comes to actually lowering prescription drug costs.” The Trump administration unveiled a proposed agreement with pharmacy benefit manager Express Scripts this week that would provide coverage to TrumpRx offerings if laws permit, meaning Congress will likely need to act soon. Meanwhile, Trump has also been implementing his federal enforcement strategy in Portland amid ongoing political debates.
Published: Feb 6, 2026 01:33 pm