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Trump Announces a Major Expansion of Most Favored Nation Drug Pricing, Aug. 31, 2026

August 31, 2026 · The White House · 0:57:46

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What happened

President Donald Trump announced a major expansion of his most favored nation (MFN) drug-pricing initiative at the White House on August 31, 2026, with nine new pharmaceutical companies committing to deliver their lowest prices for American patients. “Under that most favored nation agreement, we now pay the lowest price paid by other countries anywhere in the world,” he said. “We went from the highest price for pharmaceuticals, for drugs, to the lowest.” Executives from the committing companies — Astellas, B1 Medicines, BridgeBio, CSL, Sun Pharma, Kyowa Kirin, Teva, UCB, and others — stood with the President, and Astellas announced it would also donate the active substance for the transplant drug tacrolimus to the U.S. government.

CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz put the Medicare figures on the record: GLP-1 medications that had cost “$1,200 or more” are offered at “$50 a month” to eligible seniors, and “we have 600,000 seniors already just in two months have signed up.” Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick put the investment totals on the record: “$19.6 billion today, just today, taking us to $638 billion of all the deals that the president has made” in pharmaceutical reshoring, with, he said, “90% of the drugs covered” under MFN pricing. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. also addressed the event.

Why it matters

Drug pricing is the signature health file of Secretary Kennedy’s HHS and Dr. Oz’s CMS, and this announcement extends the MFN program that this chronicle already tracks (see the September 18, 2026 Medicaid MFN page). The figures stated here — nine companies, $638 billion in deals, 600,000 seniors on $50-a-month GLP-1 access — are dated, checkable commitments.

Scoreboard watch

This is a candidate item for the weekly scoreboard: an MFN expansion with named figures — nine new pharmaceutical companies, $19.6 billion committed that day and $638 billion in total pharmaceutical deals, 90% of drugs covered, and 600,000 seniors signed up for $50-a-month GLP-1 medications through Medicare. The scoreboard will check each figure against the agencies’ published record.

Sources: The White House, “President Trump Makes an Announcement on Healthcare Affordability, Aug. 31, 2026” (official upload, embedded above). All figures and characterizations as stated by the President, Dr. Oz, and Secretary Lutnick at the event.