Donald Trump Celebrates Drug Price Plunge, But Experts Credit Biden-Era Law

US President Donald Trump highlighted a Washington Post report showing that prescription drug prices recorded their sharpest decline in more than 60 years, presenting the figures as evidence of his administration's success. However, the article cited by Trump said independent experts believed a policy introduced during Joe Biden's presidency was more likely responsible for the fall.

The White House shared a photograph of Trump holding up the Washington Post headline, “Prescription drug prices record sharpest drop in more than 60 years”, across its social media accounts on Saturday. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt also shared the image.

The photograph was taken during a staged photo-op on Friday, when Trump approached reporters carrying a print-out of the headline and the opening lines of the article. He displayed the page for cameras and urged journalists to record and photograph it.

“The headline today is exactly that,” he said. “Did you see it?”

Trump then read the headline aloud and displayed the page again. “OK, got it? Everybody have it?” he asked. “I told you that was going to happen.”

Before leaving the press, Trump again urged reporters to pass on the news. He said: “Prescription drug prices down more than at any time over 60 years,” and added, “What else do I have to say?”

Post report points to Biden-era policy

The Washington Post article, published on Thursday, said the Trump administration had “took credit for” the biggest year-over-year fall in drug prices in more than 60 years in July. However, independent experts quoted in the report said a Biden-era policy requiring Medicare to negotiate prices for some widely used prescription drugs was more likely to be responsible for the decline.

The Inflation Reduction Act, a key achievement of Biden's presidency, was enacted in 2022. The legislation requires Medicare, the federal health programme for older people, to negotiate prices for a range of widely used and expensive prescription drugs.

The first price reductions under the policy took effect at the beginning of this year.

Experts question Trump's claim

Prescription drug prices fell 3.1% in July, according to Consumer Price Index data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Trump had fired the bureau's former head last year after weaker-than-expected employment figures, which he described as “fake”.

Richard Frank, a professor emeritus of health economics at Harvard University, questioned whether Trump's policies were responsible for the decline.

“If I was a betting guy on what mattered most, it would be probably stuff around the Inflation Reduction Act,” Frank said, adding that Trump's efforts “wouldn’t be where I’d place my money”.

Stacie Dusetzina, a health policy professor at Vanderbilt University, also told the Post that the legislation signed by Biden was a more likely explanation for the fall in prices than Trump's initiatives.

Although only 10 drugs have had their prices negotiated under the Inflation Reduction Act, Dusetzina said they are commonly used medicines “and their prices would likely be reflected in the prescription drug index”.

White House communications director Steven Cheung had also shared a screenshot of the Washington Post headline on his X account on Thursday, without linking to the article. “All thanks to President Trump!” Cheung wrote.

Published on: Sunday, August 16, 2026, 02:59 PM IST