THE TRUTH: Trump’s Actions Offer Ohio Patients Nothing, Boosts Big Drug Companies’ Profits, and Undermines The Only Program Lowering Drug Costs
On Wednesday morning, Donald Trump is heading to the Cincinnati area to gaslight residents about lowering prescription drug costs. No matter what Trump says, he can’t hide from his failed record on drug prices. Trump and Republicans cut over $1 trillion from Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act (ACA) — the largest health care cuts in history — ripping coverage away from 15 million Americans and spiking costs for millions more. With premiums soaring, hospitals shutting down, and public health in total crisis, Trump hopes to distract the American people with empty promises to lower drug costs. The truth is, aside from marketing schemes and empty promises, Trump and Republicans have done nothing to lower drug prices for Ohioans and Americans. He’s promised to bring down drug prices by “1,000 percent,” yet the GOP tax bill pads drug company profits and raises drug costs for thousands of seniors. While Democrats have saved seniors and taxpayers billions on drugs this year alone, Trump’s drug pricing executive order reads like a wishlist for Big Pharma, his drug price “deals” boost drug company stocks, and TrumpRx fails to save the vast majority of Ohioans and Americans a single penny.
By the Numbers:
- Nearly 2.2 million Ohio seniors were denied savings on lifesaving cancer drugs thanks to Trump’s Blockbuster Giveaway to big drug companies.
- Trump raked in over $10 million in donations from Big Pharma and spent the past year selling out Ohioans by rewarding them with huge returns on their pay-to-play investments.
- Ten of the largest drugmakers collectively pocketed $50 billion more in profits during Trump’s first year back in office.
- Drugmakers hiked the prices of over 750 medications during Trump’s first year back in office.
- In 2025, the 10 largest drugmakers netted over $130 billion, after spending over $80 billion showering their wealthy shareholders with stock buybacks and dividends.
- In the GOP tax scam, Trump lowered the corporate tax rate, padded drugmakers’ profits by an additional $15 billion with a special tax break, expanded the tax break through the IRS, then gave Big Pharma an additional $9 billion gift at the expense of seniors and taxpayers.
- Thanks to Trump’s tax giveaways to Big Pharma, Johnson and Johnson, AbbVie, Pfizer, Amgen, and Merck have paid $0 in federal taxes since 2018.
- Drugmakers raked in over $50 billion in sales this year on top-selling products that Trump specially carved out from Medicare drug price negotiation.
- 1 in 3 Americans were forced to skip doses, ration medications, or not fill prescriptions due to high costs and TrumpRx failed to save the vast majority of Ohioans a single dime.
Drugmakers Are Cashing in Under Trump
The truth is that Trump puts drugmakers above Ohioans and the American people at every opportunity. Trump entertained drug company CEOs at his Mar-a-Lago resort, solicited millions in donations, and then spent the past year handsomely rewarding Big Pharma for their support. As part of the GOP tax bill, Republicans handed out major tax breaks to billionaires and big corporations, including big drug companies. They didn’t stop there: Trump helped big drug companies evade billions in taxes, escape tariffs, and exempt their top-selling products from drug price negotiations.
The results are paying off for big drug companies as they are reporting eye-popping profits while working families struggle to afford the medications that keep them alive. The ten largest drug companies made over $130 billion in earnings in 2025, while families across Ohio and America rationed doses, skipped refills, and dove deeper into their savings to afford prescriptions.
Read Protect Our Care’s Latest Greed Watch Report: Drug Company Profits Skyrocket As Trump Cuts Back Room Deals That Screw Over Working Families
Trump Is Trying to Take Credit for Savings While Undermining Medicare Negotiations
Democrats took on the drug industry and won, saving seniors and taxpayers billions on high-cost drugs by giving Medicare the power to negotiate drug prices, capping insulin at $35 a month, and ensuring seniors never have to spend more than $2,100 a year on drugs – all without a single Republican vote. Now, Trump and his GOP allies are simultaneously working to undermine Medicare negotiations while taking credit for its savings for seniors.
While Trump makes sham drug pricing announcements designed to distract the public from his abysmal record, he is working behind the scenes to raise costs for patients. Trump handed Big Pharma their biggest victory in years by signing an $8.8 billion bailout designed to carve out top-selling products, such as lifesaving cancer drugs Keytruda and Opdivo, from Medicare drug price negotiations. Per The Wall Street Journal: “Thousands of Medicare recipients will have to wait longer to get some price relief on the expensive cancer drugs they depend on for treatment, while others might not get any reprieve at all.”
Now, Trump and Republicans in Congress want to hand big drug companies another win at the expense of seniors by delaying Medicare from negotiating lower prices for the small molecule drugs that make up 58 percent of the market. The Congressional Budget Office estimated that this lobbying priority for Big Pharma would cost seniors and taxpayers $10 billion.
TrumpRx Is No More Than a Publicity Stunt (And a Win for Big Pharma)
Trump’s new “TrumpRx” website is a total slap in the face to Ohioans and Americans struggling with prescription drug costs. It doesn’t lower prices, cap out-of-pocket costs, or expand coverage. It’s a useless, dressed-up shopping page that points Ohioans to discounts they could already find elsewhere. Most hard-working families won’t save a penny using the site, and experts warn they could actually lose hundreds of dollars by being funneled toward brand-name drugs instead of cheaper generics or medications covered by insurance.
“If this is all that President Trump does on drug pricing, it is likely a win for the pharmaceutical industry and should serve as a clearing event,” said industry analyst and former Trump administration health official Chris Meekins.
Read Protect Our Care’s Fact Sheet: 10 Reasons Why TrumpRx Is an Utter Joke