President Donald Trump said Friday that Trumprx.gov has added 160 prescription drugs, lifting the total number of discounted medications on the site to more than 800. He said the program now offers discounted coverage for four out of five prescription fills made by Americans.
The expansion is the latest move in the Trump administration's push to build out a government-backed drug discount site that was unveiled in February. Trump said the added drugs bring the program to more than 800 of the most commonly used prescriptions, while CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz said at a White House briefing Tuesday that 160 new medications were being added and that the site now lists more than 750 drugs.
The site is meant to steer patients toward discounted offerings from participating drugmakers and online pharmacies, where users can search for medications, check estimated savings and generate coupons for eligible prescriptions. The administration has said the list includes GLP-1 weight-loss drugs, inhalers, HIV treatments, diabetes medications and fertility drugs.
Behind the new numbers is a deal structure the administration built with 16 major pharmaceutical companies under so-called most-favored-nation pricing arrangements. Those companies, including Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk, received tariff-related exemptions while agreeing to lower prices for certain medicines and extend discounted pricing to eligible cash-paying consumers through Trumprx.
That discount pitch does not always mean the lowest out-of-pocket bill. Experts cited in a PBS report said many insured Americans may still pay less by using their health coverage instead of paying cash through the program, a reminder that the savings can depend heavily on the patient and the prescription. The administration has also recently expanded the platform with partnerships involving online pharmacies to add some 600 generic drugs.
Trump's announcement leaves two important gaps open: which specific drugs were added Friday, and how much patients will actually save on them. For now, the administration is betting that breadth will sell the program as much as price does, even if the cheapest option for many people still sits outside Trumprx.
