President Trump officially launches prescription drug website “TrumpRx”
President Donald Trump has officially launched TrumpRx, a new government website aimed at helping Americans buy medicines more cheaply.
President Donald Trump and his top aides have been touting efforts to lower prescription drug prices for Americans for months. Consumers can now check prices on the recently launched TrumpRx.gov website.
“This is a huge deal,” President Trump said when announcing the launch on February 5. “People will save a lot of money and be healthier.”
But analysts say the Trump administration’s consumer drug pricing site may not offer lower drug prices for most Americans.
TrumpRx, a key pillar of the Trump administration’s efforts to address health care affordability, so far includes brand-name fertility, insulin, weight-loss drugs and other drugs from five drug companies. And while these drugs are discounted from list price, nearly half of TrumpRx’s drugs have generic equivalents that can be purchased elsewhere, often at lower prices.
The website does not mention this difference, only that consumers can “find the world’s lowest prices on prescription drugs.”
Of the 43 brand-name drugs listed on TrumpRx, 20 have generic versions that can be purchased at other pharmacies or direct-to-consumer sites, said Sarah Carlin Smith, research director for Public Citizen’s Access to Medicines Program. Public Citizen is a nonprofit consumer advocacy organization.
Karlin Smith said she conducted the analysis to let the public know there may be cheaper alternatives, with prices posted on consumer sites such as GoodRx and Cost Plus Drugs.
“We don’t want consumers who aren’t used to a broader pricing system to think it’s a good idea to get these older branded drugs,” Carlin-Smith said.
For example, TrumpRx lists Pfizer’s heartburn and reflux drug Protonix at a price of $200.10, more than 50% off the drug’s list price.
But the generic version of the drug can be purchased for $11.68 at Safeway and $15.61 at Walmart when combined with a coupon, according to GoodRx, a consumer prescription drug pricing app.
Entrepreneur Mark Cuban said his company, Cost Plus Drugs, offers 90% of the drugs listed on TrumpRx at low prices. The main reason: Cost Plus Drugs carries generic drugs.
“We’ve added a number of generic drug brands,” Cuban said in a social media post. “So we beat them there, usually by a wide margin.”
Still, Cuban said TrumpRx “knocked it out” on fertility drug prices. Cetrotide, an injectable drug used in in vitro fertilization, is listed for $22.50 on TrumpRx. Generic versions of the drug sell for $49.50 at Cost Plus Drugs and more than $300 at chain pharmacies like CVS and Walgreens.
White House officials said TrumpRx aims to offer branded drugs at the lowest prices, although some generic drugs may be cheaper. The site currently offers branded drugs from the first five drug companies to negotiate “most-favored-nation” pricing agreements with the Trump administration. Eleven more companies will then negotiate prices and their products will be added to TrumpRx, White House officials said.
Who will use TrumpRx?
Consumers with a prescription can visit the site and view the products listed. This website does not process insurance claims and only lists prices for cash paying customers. Consumers cannot order medicines directly from the website. Instead, there is an instruction manual for each drug that directs consumers to coupons that can be used on the manufacturer’s website or at local pharmacies.
Dr. Benjamin Rome, a professor at Harvard Medical School, said TrumpRx is likely to appeal to a limited number of people.
Rome says people who don’t have health insurance or are “underinsured” in high-deductible insurance plans, where they typically have to pay thousands of dollars before coverage, are more likely to shop there.
People with good coverage may use their insurance to fill prescriptions.
“It’s not particularly useful for most people who use prescription drugs, because most people use their insurance to buy drugs,” Rome said.
Can consumers get discounts on weight loss drugs?
Consumers have a hard time affording weight loss drugs like Wegovy and Zepbound because of erratic health insurance coverage.
Slightly more than half of large employers that provide health insurance to workers and their families do not cover GLP-1 drugs for obesity.
A study by benefits consultant Mercer found that major employers are gradually adding coverage for weight loss drugs. In 2025, 49% of large employers will cover GLP-1 therapeutics, up from 44% in 2024 and 41% in 2023. So even consumers with insurance may not be able to get coverage for these blockbuster drugs.
TrumpRx has discounted prices on Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy injectable version and weight loss drug, and Eli Lilly’s Zepbound shot. But the price of TrumpRx, a popular weight loss drug, is the same as what Novo and Lilly charge cash-paying customers.
For example, TrumpRx charges $299 for a 2.5 mg single-dose vial of Zepbound. This is the same price that Lilly charges customers who buy directly from the company.
Novo Nordisk offers the same pricing through TrumpRx, Novo pharmacies, retail stores, and telemedicine outlets. For new customers, Novo will sell 0.25 mg and 0.5 mg versions of Wegovy and Ozempic for $199 for the first two months. The third month of refills increases the price to $349.
Lilly and Novo are under pressure from the Trump administration to lower the prices of weight loss and diabetes drugs. In the agreement announced Nov. 6, President Trump said Medicare would cover Novo’s Wegobee and Lilly’s Zepbound for millions of seniors.
Novo and Lilly agreed to sell the drug to Medicare for an average of $245 per monthly dose. People on Medicare will be charged a $50 monthly copayment to obtain the weight loss drug. Medicare plans to begin covering the drug in the spring or summer of 2026.
Eliminate drug price middlemen?
Analysts say the launch of TrumpRx highlights the expanding role of direct-to-consumer sites.
The pharmaceutical industry has historically relied on multiple intermediaries from the drug factory to the consumer’s medicine shelf.
A drug price intermediary called a pharmacy benefit manager guides drugs from the factory to the retail pharmacy. PBMSs, in particular, have come under scrutiny for their role in setting drug prices and influencing consumers’ access to medicines through drug formularies, which are the list of prescription drugs available to consumers through their health insurance plans.
Kelly Griffin, director of PwC’s Institute for Health Policy and Intelligence, said consumer-facing sites like TrumpRx are giving consumers more transparency into drug pricing.
“When the perspective changes, especially for consumers, the power changes,” Griffin said, adding that such information could also have ripple effects on other intermediaries in the drug market.
Because drug companies can contact consumers directly, they “don’t have to rely on traditional rebates or formulation engines that require many steps between drug companies and consumers.”
In a social media post, Cuban said efforts to avoid drug price intermediaries are “a big step forward,” but further reforms are needed to lower drug prices and overall health care costs.
While these other reforms are not imminent, Harvard professor Rome said the TrumpRx site provides one of many options for consumers when looking for lower drug prices. He cited Cost Plus Drugs, GoodRx, and retailers such as Costco, Walmart, and Amazon as places where consumers can shop and compare prices.
“The challenge is there’s not one place that will always offer the lowest price,” Roman said.
Contact the reporter at alltuck@usatoday.com..
