President Donald Trump announced on Thursday the launch of TrumpRx, a new direct-to-consumer website that the White House says is central to its effort to lower prescription drug costs in the United States.

The platform does not sell medications directly. Instead, it serves as a centralized hub that directs consumers to drugmakers offering discounts on certain medications through their own direct-to-consumer programs or provides coupons that can be used at pharmacies.

The administration says TrumpRx will help millions of Americans save money on prescriptions, particularly those willing to pay cash rather than use insurance. Health policy experts, however, say the benefits may be limited for many patients who already have insurance coverage.

“You’re going to save a fortune and this is also so good for overall health care,” Trump said Thursday during an event unveiling the site.

How TrumpRx Works

TrumpRx functions as a referral platform rather than an online pharmacy. Consumers who visit the site can browse a list of discounted medications and are then directed to participating drugmakers’ own ordering platforms or provided with information on how to access reduced prices.

For example, clicking on an offer for Eli Lilly’s weight loss drug Zepbound redirects users to LillyDirect, the company’s existing direct-to-consumer service. Patients must still have a valid prescription and complete the ordering process through the manufacturer.

At launch, TrumpRx features medications from five companies that have reached pricing agreements with the administration: AstraZeneca, Eli Lilly, EMD Serono, Novo Nordisk, and Pfizer. According to a White House fact sheet, drugs from additional companies will be added in the coming months.

Who Stands to Benefit

TrumpRx is aimed primarily at cash-paying consumers, which suggests it may be most useful for people who are uninsured, underinsured, or whose insurance does not cover certain medications.

Juliette Cubanski, deputy director of the program on Medicare Policy at KFF, said the platform could help expand access to some high-cost drugs that are not widely covered by insurance, particularly obesity medications.

“If they’re able to get a drug covered by their insurance at a relatively affordable copay, then there’s not a great upside to using the TrumpRx website,” Cubanski said.

She also noted that patients who purchase medications through direct-to-consumer channels may not have those costs count toward their insurance deductibles or out-of-pocket maximums, which could reduce the overall value of the discounts for insured patients.

Questions About Actual Savings

While the administration has promoted TrumpRx as offering steep discounts, experts caution that the advertised savings are often measured against list prices rather than what insurers and government programs typically pay after negotiations.

Under Novo Nordisk’s agreement with the administration, for example, some doses of its diabetes drug Ozempic will be available through TrumpRx for $350 per month, compared with a list price of roughly $1,000. However, researchers at Georgetown University’s Medicare Policy Initiative have noted that insurers and public programs often already secure large discounts.

Studies cited by the researchers show average discounts of about 40 percent off list prices in Medicare Part D, with Medicaid discounts exceeding 75 percent. That means some insured patients may already be paying prices similar to or lower than those offered through TrumpRx.

“In the private sector, insurers and pharmacy benefit managers are already negotiating lower prices,” Cubanski said. “My guess is that for most brand-name drugs, people are likely to get a better deal using their insurance rather than purchasing through a direct-to-consumer website.”

Drugs Available at Launch

The White House highlighted several major medications available through TrumpRx, with a particular focus on GLP-1 drugs used for diabetes and weight loss:

• Ozempic injection for diabetes, made by Novo Nordisk, starting at $199 per month

• Wegovy injection for obesity, made by Novo Nordisk, starting at $199 per month

• Wegovy pill for obesity, made by Novo Nordisk, starting at $149 per month for starter doses

• Zepbound injection for obesity, made by Eli Lilly, starting at $299 per month

The site also emphasizes discounts on fertility medications, including EMD Serono’s Gonal-F, listed at $168 for cash-paying patients.

Dozens of other drugs expected to eventually appear on TrumpRx were not listed at launch, including treatments from companies such as Amgen, Merck, and Gilead.

Part of a Broader Drug Pricing Strategy

TrumpRx builds on the administration’s broader push to reduce U.S. drug prices, which remain significantly higher than those in other developed countries. According to the Rand Corporation, prescription drug prices in the U.S. are two to three times higher on average than in peer nations and up to ten times higher for some medications.

The platform is also tied to Trump’s “most favored nation” policy, which seeks to link U.S. drug prices to the lowest prices paid abroad. In recent months, at least 15 drugmakers have negotiated voluntary pricing agreements with the administration, including commitments to offer discounted prices to Medicaid patients.

Some pharmaceutical executives have publicly expressed support for the direct-to-consumer approach. Bristol Myers Squibb CEO Chris Boerner said earlier this year that bypassing certain middlemen in the health care system can reduce costs. Eli Lilly CEO Dave Ricks said TrumpRx expands an approach Lilly pioneered with its own direct sales of obesity treatments.

Whether TrumpRx delivers meaningful savings for a broad range of patients remains to be seen. For now, experts say its impact will likely be narrow, helping certain cash-paying consumers while leaving most insured Americans better off sticking with traditional coverage.

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