Most-Favored-Nation Plan Pushes Back on Pharma Pricing
The Trump administration has reintroduced the Most-Favored-Nation (MFN) plan, which aims to lower drug prices in the U.S. by matching the lowest rates paid in comparable developed countries. While the policy could reduce Medicare and Medicaid costs, patient assistance programs like Simplefill remain the most reliable way to access affordable prescriptions nationwide.
Trump’s Most-Favored-Nation plan (MFN) seems like a good move on paper, but can it do what it proposes? Learn more about the MFN and what it may mean for your medications.
What Is the Most-Favored-Nation Plan?
The Most-Favored-Nation plan is a policy the Trump administration designed to help lower drug costs in the United States. If implemented, it would require pharmaceutical companies to price medications for the U.S. by matching the lowest prices paid by select Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries.
Why Was the Most-Favored-Nation Plan Created?
The plan focuses on preventing American citizens from paying more for their medications than others do in comparable developed countries. It currently focuses on high-cost Medicare Part B biologicals and drugs, but the goal is to extend the MFN to cover private insurance plans and Medicaid.
What Is the History of the Most-Favored-Nation Plan?
The Most-Favored-Nation model isn’t a new idea. President Trump first proposed it in 2020, but because the courts blocked it, it was never implemented. The administration later withdrew the policy. Now, however, it’s back and gathering steam, with the 2025 version including more provisions than the original plan.
What Changes Were Made to the Most-Favored-Nation Plan?
Unlike the 2020 version, the new plan offers both voluntary and regulatory measures. Pharmaceutical companies will have a chance to negotiate with the United States and enter into voluntary agreements. If that fails, the administration reserves the right to craft laws to force drugmakers to comply.
How Will the 2025 MFN Plan Be Enforced?
The 2025 iteration of the MFN plan would require manufacturers to extend these lower prices to all Medicaid patients while at the same time promising not to offer better deals to other comparable countries. Additionally, it calls for direct-to-consumer and direct-to-business programs to cut out the middlemen that can hike up prices.
The enforcement tools the administration will have at its disposal would also be expanded. The government would be able to initiate rulemaking procedures to compel pharmaceutical companies to cooperate. It could even offer drug importation waivers via the FDA to bring in medications from other countries, thereby lowering costs. For more insight into prescription drug pricing strategies, see our blog on How the MAHA Strategy Could Change Your Prescription Costs.
Additionally, the administration would reserve the right to revoke or modify drug approvals for ineffective or dangerous medications. Improperly marketed drugs could also find themselves on the chopping block.
Afford Your Prescriptions With Simplefill
If you’re currently struggling to afford your medications, the MFN plan won’t do you much good. Fortunately, turning to a patient assistance program could give you the chance to obtain medications at an affordable rate.
Simplefill can help identify all of the programs you may be eligible for. Because we know just how tough it is to get into these programs, we go one step further: We apply for you. With our help, you’ll have a better chance of affording the vital medications you need.
Get Affordable Access to Prescription Medications
Simplefill is a full-service prescription assistance company that researches, qualifies, and maintains patients’ enrollment in all sources of assistance available to them.
Apply today by calling 877-386-0206. A caring Simplefill representative will contact you within 24 hours to discuss your application and, if qualified, enroll you in the program.
Frequently Asked Questions
Learn more about the MFN plan and what it could mean for you by reading the answers to these common questions:
Are There Drawbacks to the MFN Plan?
The MFN plan could spark trade disputes while also removing some of the incentive for crafting new drugs. This could mean less innovation, as companies would be putting less money into research. It could also delay the release of medications in countries with price limitations to avoid setting low reference prices.
How Soon Will Drug Prices Change Under the MFN Plan?
The pharmaceutical companies must stick to certain timelines. If there isn’t enough progress made in six months after the MFN begins, for example, the administration will impose pricing via rulemaking and “other aggressive measures.”
What Alternatives Are There to the MFN Plan?
Lowering drug prices may be accomplished by using a tool that already exists: Medicare drug price negotiations. This provision of President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act grants Medicare the power to negotiate certain prescription drug prices with manufacturers.
Will the MFN Plan Impact Patient Assistance Programs?
While it’s not yet clear what kind of impact the policy will have on the discounts pharmaceutical companies or pharmacies offer, patient assistance programs will continue to search for the most affordable rates for each patient. The goal is to find and apply for every potential discount you can receive.
blog