Tracking every rollback, reversal, and overreach — and the path back to the America we know.
President Trump signed Executive Order 13948 on September 13, 2020, directing the Department of Health and Human Services to allow Medicare to pay no more for drugs than the lowest price paid in other developed countries. The order applied to a subset of Medicare Part B drugs. As of 2021, the rule was blocked by federal courts before implementation, preventing direct Medicare price changes for most drugs covered under the order.
Executive Order 13939 was signed on July 24, 2020, directing the Department of Health and Human Services to issue a safe harbor rule removing anti-kickback protections for rebates in drug pricing negotiations. The order aimed to increase price transparency by allowing pharmaceutical manufacturers, pharmacy benefit managers, and health plans to negotiate rebates directly. The confirmed effect was that HHS issued a proposed rule in January 2021 to modify anti-kickback statute safe harbors, though implementation faced legal challenges and the rule's real-world impact on patient drug prices remained subject to ongoing litigation.