President Donald J. Trump is visiting Thermo Fisher Scientific in Reading today to spotlight TrumpRX.gov, a new prescription website promising what it calls “the lowest prices on prescription drugs” for Americans.
“America was being overcharged for medicine. The same drugs, made in the same factories, at the same dosages, are costing Americans up to 1,000% more than in any other country. This is unacceptable,” the website claims.
Launched on February 5, 2026, TrumpRX initially listed 40 medications, including fertility treatments, insulin and weight-loss drugs. During the unveiling, Trump told the Associated Press the program could dramatically reduce costs.
“You’re going to save a fortune,” Trump said. “And this is also so good for overall health care.”
Some Americans may see savings, but buried in the site’s terms and conditions is a major limitation: users must confirm they are not enrolled in any government, state or federally funded medical or prescription benefit program.
That means no Medicare, Medicaid, TRICARE, VA benefits or other government-backed coverage.
The restriction leaves roughly one in three Americans unable to use the site. About 100 million people — nearly 30% of the U.S. population — received some form of government health coverage in 2019, according to the U.S. Census data. That number increased during the pandemic and rose to about 35% by 2024.
The Americans excluded from the service span a wide range of incomes. Medicaid primarily serves low-income individuals and families, many of whom work in jobs that do not offer affordable health insurance.
In states that expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act, working adults generally must earn less than $17,226 per year, roughly 138% of the federal poverty level, to qualify. As a result, many enrollees earn between $10,000 and $20,000 annually.
Medicare, by contrast, primarily serves adults age 65 and older, along with people with long-term disabilities. Most beneficiaries rely on retirement income and Social Security rather than wages. Median per-person income among Medicare recipients is roughly $42,000 to $44,000 per year.
Financial hardship remains common even among those with coverage. In 2023, more than one-third of Medicare beneficiaries reported delaying or skipping medical care because of cost.
TrumpRX also differs from traditional pharmacies. The platform does not sell medications directly. Instead, it functions as a referral system that directs users to drug manufacturers’ own direct-to-consumer websites, where purchases can be completed.
For those able to use it, the site may offer lower prices. For millions of Americans who rely on government-funded health insurance, however, the service is not an option.
The launch comes amid decades of debate over rising healthcare costs in the United States.
The Affordable Care Act, often called Obamacare, was signed into law by President Barack Obama on March 23, 2010. While enacted that year, its major provisions, including insurance marketplaces, subsidies and Medicaid expansion, took effect in 2014. The law represents the most significant overhaul of U.S. healthcare policy since 1965.
During Trump’s first administration, healthcare policy focused heavily on price transparency and efforts to lower drug costs. The administration also attempted to repeal the Affordable Care Act, though the effort ultimately failed. Some policies lowered insurance premiums for certain consumers, while others contributed to higher deductibles and out-of-pocket costs.
The Biden-Harris administration later expanded Affordable Care Act subsidies through the American Rescue Plan and the Inflation Reduction Act. Those changes helped push the ACA enrollment to more than 24 million people by 2025 and reduced premiums for many marketplace enrollees.
Despite those efforts, prescription drug prices in the United States remain among the highest in the world.
On the TrumpRX website, American drug prices are compared to those in other countries. One example highlights Gonal-F, a fertility medication. As of March 11, a 450-unit pen costs about $1,386 in the United States. In Canada, the same medication costs about $355.
Overall, healthcare spending continues to climb. According to the Health Policy Institute of Ohio, total healthcare spending rose 7.5% in 2023 alone.
The TrumpRX website argues the program will help end what it describes as price gouging by pharmaceutical companies.
“Thanks to President Trump, the days of Big Pharma price-gouging are over,” the site states. “Leveraging the full weight and power of the United States of America, the President has ensured every American gets the lowest prices on prescription medications in the developed world.”
But the reasons U.S. drug prices remain so high extend far beyond a single program.
Americans spend more on healthcare than any other country. Since 2000, U.S. healthcare spending has more than tripled to nearly $4.9 trillion annually, accounting for roughly 17% of the nation’s entire economy, according to KFF, which was formerly the Kaiser Family Foundation
Yet Americans do not necessarily receive more care. Compared with people in other wealthy nations, Americans visit doctors less frequently and spend fewer nights in hospitals.
Experts say the difference largely comes down to how drug prices are set.
Many wealthy countries negotiate directly with pharmaceutical companies to cap prices. In the United States, manufacturers generally set their own prices with fewer restrictions, according to research published in PubMed Central. As a result, some medications cost dramatically more in the U.S. than elsewhere. One cancer drug, for example, can cost $100,000 more in the United States than in France, according to the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Another factor is the role of pharmacy benefit managers, companies that negotiate drug prices on behalf of insurance providers. Critics say these middlemen operate with limited transparency and may profit from higher-priced medications, giving them little incentive to reduce costs, according to research from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.
For many Americans, the consequences are immediate.
Nearly one in four people report struggling to afford their prescriptions, and roughly 30% say they have skipped or rationed medications because of cost, according to the California Health Care Foundation.
TrumpRX may offer savings to some consumers. But for millions of Americans who rely on government-funded insurance, and for others still struggling with rising healthcare costs, the broader problem of prescription drug pricing remains far from solved.