The White House on Saturday promoted a Washington Post headline touting the sharpest drop in prescription drug prices in more than 60 years, presenting it as evidence of President Donald Trump‘s success despite the article’s own experts pointing to a Biden-era policy as a more likely driver.
Experts Point to Biden-Era Law, Not Trump Policy
According to Consumer Price Index data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, prescription drug prices fell 3.1% in July, the steepest year-over-year decline in more than six decades.
Independent experts cited by the Washington Post said the drop is more likely tied to Medicare drug-price negotiations required under Joe Biden‘s 2022 Inflation Reduction Act than to any Trump administration policy.
Richard Frank, a professor emeritus of health economics at Harvard University, told the Post that if he had to bet on the cause, “it would be probably stuff around the Inflation Reduction Act.” The law lowers prescription drug costs for people with Medicare. Frank added that Trump’s efforts “wouldn’t be where I’d place my money.”
Vanderbilt’s Stacie Dusetzina agreed, noting the 10 drugs already negotiated under the law are widely used and “would likely be reflected in the prescription drug index.”
Trump Promotes Drug-Price Headline
President Trump held up the headline for cameras on Friday, declaring, “I told you that was going to happen.”
On its official social media accounts, the White House’s official caption read, “POV: you bring the receipts.” Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt also shared the image.
White House Communications Director Steven Cheung had posted a screenshot of the headline on X on Thursday, the same day the article was published. He wrote, “All thanks to President Trump!” but did not link to the article.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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