The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has released an updated analysis indicating that a provision included in President Donald Trump’s legislative package, known as the ORPHAN Cures Act, will cost U.S. taxpayers nearly twice the previously estimated amount. The analysis, published on Monday, reveals that the provision is now expected to cost $8.8 billion over the next decade, up from an initial projection of around $5 billion.
The CBO noted that its original estimate did not account for several high-cost drugs that are now exempt from Medicare price negotiations due to the Trump-GOP law. Among these drugs is Keytruda, a cancer medication produced by Merck, which carries a list price of $24,062 every six weeks. The law delays Keytruda’s eligibility for Medicare price negotiations by at least a year, delaying potential savings for both taxpayers and patients.
Merith Basey, executive director of Patients for Affordable Drugs Now, criticized the provision, calling it a “wildly expensive handout to Big Pharma” that harms patients and drains taxpayer resources. She highlighted that the pharmaceutical industry is pushing for additional exemptions through bills like the EPIC Act, which would further limit Medicare’s ability to negotiate drug prices.
Basey emphasized that public sentiment strongly favors lowering drug costs, with 90% of Americans supporting efforts to reduce prescription drug prices. She argued that continued support for such legislation contradicts this public demand and instead benefits large pharmaceutical companies.
The pharmaceutical industry has long opposed the Medicare price negotiation program, which was introduced during the Biden administration. While efforts to weaken the program have faced legal challenges, industry-friendly policies under the Trump administration and Republican lawmakers have advanced similar goals through legislative and executive actions.
Earlier this year, President Trump signed an executive order aimed at delaying price negotiations for a broad range of medications, despite prior commitments to reduce healthcare costs. Brad Woodhouse, president of Protect Our Care, condemned the move, stating that it prioritizes the interests of pharmaceutical companies over those of seniors and other vulnerable populations.
Woodhouse also pointed to the broader impact of GOP policies, including a tax bill that affected millions of Americans’ access to healthcare. He criticized the law for increasing costs for many while allowing corporate executives and billionaires to accumulate more wealth.
Steve Knievel, an access to medicines advocate at Public Citizen, called for stronger measures to expand Medicare’s ability to negotiate lower drug prices. He urged Congress to pass legislation that would allow all patients, regardless of Medicare status, to benefit from negotiated drug prices.
Knievel argued that current policies, such as the ORPHAN Cures Act, EPIC Act, and MINI Act, undermine the goal of reducing drug costs by creating exceptions that shield profitable medications from price negotiations. He emphasized that the focus should be on empowering Medicare to negotiate fairer prices for all costly medicines.
English 
Arabic 