Some pharmacists worry that a U.S. executive order to lower drug prices could impact Taiwan. The order requires drugmakers to match their lowest global prices when selling to the U.S. There are concerns that companies might respond by raising prices in less profitable countries like Taiwan — or pulling out of those markets entirely.
00:00U.S. President Donald Trump is ordering drug makers to cut their prices.
00:04A new executive order says companies must sell in the U.S. at the same prices they offer
00:08in other countries.
00:10Right now, Americans pay nearly three times more for prescription drugs than people in
00:13other developed nations.
00:15In Taiwan, where drugs are relatively cheap, there are jitters about how drug makers could
00:20react, because the U.S. market accounts for a third of world spending on medicine.
00:24Too big to lose.
00:26To keep U.S. prices high, companies could raise prices elsewhere.
00:30And in a worst-case scenario, they could stop selling to less profitable markets like Taiwan
00:34altogether.
00:36Pharmacists say cancer patients are among those who stand to lose the most.
00:39Do we need to reduce drugs, or do we need to reduce drugs, or do we need to reduce drugs?
00:44We need to use drugs, we need to use drugs, we need to use drugs, and we need to use drugs.
00:55Just yet, cutting-edge drugs could take much longer to reach Taiwan, maybe three to five
00:59years after other countries, as companies focus on profit in big markets like the U.S.
01:04.
01:05Whether Trump's order will be effective is uncertain. And the government says there's a
01:22system in place to make sure Taiwan has a stockpile of medication it needs.
01:27But concerned pharmacists say, without higher health insurance premiums, Taiwan could soon find it hard to get the high-end medications needed to keep people healthy.
01:51Kline Wong and John Van Trieste for Taiwan Plus.
