President says he’s adding ‘over 600’ prescription drugs to TrumpRx site

Donald Trump has announced a major expansion of his prescription drug website, TrumpRx, claiming the number of medications available via the discount program will increase nearly sevenfold.

Experts raised questions earlier this year about the limited number of drugs listed on the site, suggesting they would appeal to a relatively small group of patients.

In a speech on Monday, Trump said his administration is “adding over 600 affordable generics to the website”, which he claimed would give consumers “one source to ensure that they are getting the lowest possible cost on their prescription”.

“TrumpRx will feature the best and lowest prices on prescriptions used by tens of millions of Americans already, and in some cases the discounted generics available through TrumpRx may be offered at an even lower cash price than the out of pocket insurance costs,” he said.

Trump added that his administration was developing new tools for the site, including a feature that would connect patients with the lowest-price pharmacy in their neighborhood or allow them to have discounted prescriptions shipped directly to their homes.

During a presentation at the event, Trump’s chief design officer, Joe Gebbia, said the website includes a section called “Presidential Deals”, featuring “some of the most affordable brand name drugs” in the country. Gebbia added that consumers can now search for brand-name medications and compare them with generic alternatives.

Gebbia, co-founder of Airbnb, also highlighted a new price-comparison tool on the site. “Now you can compare for the best medicine prices, as easy as it is to compare hotels or Airbnbs or baseball tickets,” he said.

Despite the rollout and expansion of TrumpRx, some experts argue the platform is “not a solution” for many patients.

Speaking to the Guardian earlier this year, Sean Sullivan, a professor of health economics and policy and former dean of pharmacy at the University of Washington, said: “Consumers can probably get a cheaper version of these medicines through insurance and their pharmacies, or via cash pay services like Cost Plus Drugs than by the deals offered through TrumpRx.”

Rena Conti, an associate professor of markets, public policy and law at Boston University’s Questrom School of Business, echoed those concerns. “Healthcare is really complicated in America, and even the supply of prescription drugs is really complicated in America,” she said. “And this has added to the complexity, instead of reducing complexity.”