In May 2025, President Donald Trump signed a sweeping Executive Order aimed at curbing the high cost of prescription drugs in the United States. Dubbed the Most-Favored Nation (MFN) pricing rule, this policy would require that America pay no more than the lowest price pharmaceutical companies offer for the same medications in other developed countries. On the surface, this sounds like a win for American patients—but like any policy of this scale, it comes with both promising benefits and serious risks.

What Is the MFN Executive Order?

Under the Executive Order, the U.S. government—through agencies like Medicare and Medicaid—would benchmark drug prices to those in countries such as Canada, Germany, or the UK, where governments negotiate directly with drug manufacturers. This approach seeks to end the long-standing reality where Americans pay two to ten times more for the same drugs than patients in other nations.

This policy is built on the logic that U.S. consumers have been subsidizing global pharmaceutical innovation, paying higher prices while other countries benefit from cheaper access. By pegging prices to the lowest rates in the developed world, the MFN rule aims to eliminate this imbalance and deliver much-needed relief to American families.

Advantages of the MFN Pricing Model

• Lower Drug Prices for Many Americans – Some life-saving medications could become significantly more affordable—particularly for seniors and those with chronic conditions.

• Pressure on Pharmaceutical Companies – Drug manufacturers would be compelled to offer competitive pricing, not just in the U.S., but globally, to avoid triggering MFN clauses.

• Fairness and Parity – The policy aims to end what many call “global freeloading”—where other countries pay less while benefiting from U.S.-funded R&D.

Disadvantages and Risks

• Reduced Innovation – Critics warn that if pharmaceutical revenues drop significantly, companies may cut back on research and development, delaying or halting future cures.

• Drug Access Limitations – Manufacturers might choose to withhold or delay launching new drugs in the U.S. to maintain pricing leverage elsewhere.

• Legal and Logistical Challenges – The policy could face significant legal opposition and implementation hurdles, especially from pharmaceutical lobby groups and trade partners.

• Limited Scope – Initially, the policy only applies to a narrow group of high-expenditure drugs, and private insurers are not yet bound by the pricing caps.

Alternative Solutions

While the MFN approach is bold, experts suggest alternative reforms that could balance affordability with innovation:

• Value-Based Pricing: Price drugs according to the actual health benefit they deliver.

• Outcomes-Based Contracts: Pay manufacturers only if the drug proves effective.

• Encouraging Generics and Biosimilars: Speed up market entry and prevent anti-competitive tactics.

• Public R&D and Patent Buyouts: Increase government funding for drug development and make life-saving medications publicly available.

• International Reference Pricing: Use a weighted average of prices from peer countries—not just the lowest.

God’s Promise of Health

While these human efforts to reduce drug prices are commendable, they overlook a deeper truth: our physical health is ultimately tied to our spiritual condition. Thousands of years ago, when God brought Israel out of slavery in Egypt, He made a remarkable promise:

“If you diligently heed the voice of the Lord your God and do what is right in His sight, give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have brought on the Egyptians. For I am the Lord who heals you.”

— Exodus 15:26 (NKJV)

God offered Israel not just freedom, but health, wholeness, and protection from the plagues of Egypt—on the condition of obedience to His laws. Imagine if that principle were applied today: if America and the nations truly sought to obey God’s commandments, the burden of disease—and the desperate demand for costly drugs—would be vastly diminished.

The Healing to Come

The good news is that a time is coming when this promise will no longer be limited to a single nation. During the millennial reign of Jesus Christ, the whole world will learn God’s ways. The prophet Isaiah declared:

“And the inhabitant will not say, ‘I am sick’; the people who dwell in it will be forgiven their iniquity.”

— Isaiah 33:24

Under Christ’s righteous government, diseases will disappear, and humanity will experience a level of health and well-being that today’s pharmaceutical industry could never deliver—because it will come not from a pill or a policy, but from the power of God, the Healer. Even today, while we live in a fallen world, Christ assumes that we will practice good health habits, seek medical help when necessary, and prepare financially with prudence—yet always keeping in faith that true healing comes from God (Matthew 9:12; Proverbs 3:5–8; see also 1 Timothy 5:23; Luke 10:34).

President Trump’s MFN Executive Order represents a bold attempt to correct one of the major injustices in global health economics. But like all man-made solutions, it can only go so far. A better cure for our health crisis lies not in Congress or in courtrooms, but ultimately, in a return to the God who made us.