Iowa Politics with Jeff Stein -- Tue. Aug. 18, 2026

The price for this is lower.

I'm Jeff Stein with today's Iowa Politics Report.

In a year when many are making the word affordability the election buzzword, comes word that one area for consumers has actually gone down in price, namely prescription drug prices.

Tracing back to the first Nixon administration, the cost of prescription drug prices has gone up each and every year.

However, that increase has been slowed since the first George W. Bush administration, with the increase going down every administration since, even during the inflation spike of the Biden years.

Now, though, something quite different.

The cost of prescription drugs has actually gone down during the current Trump administration.

Not that the rate of increase was lower than in the past, this is an actual reduction in costs.

The White House attributes this to most favored nation pricing, which has led to 17 of the world's largest drug makers covering approximately 86% of the branded drug market agreeing to bring prices charged in the U.S.

in line with the lowest paid by comparable developed nations.

Without it, Americans have for years subsidized cheaper drug prices abroad.

The Washington Post noted as much.

With a headline reading, prescription drug prices record sharpest drop in more than 60 years.

The administration says these changes have generated $700 million in savings for millions of Americans.

They cite GLP-1 medications that once cost more than $1,000 per month, now being available for as low as $149.

Overall, prescription drug prices are down 3.9 percent since Trump 2.0 began.

Non-prescription drugs are also down 2.4 percent over that same time.

Granted, the price of gas remains high and groceries are still pricey at times, but here's at least one bright spot, and it's for something we need, not just something we want.

And that's the Iowa Politics Report for Tuesday, August 18 on Twitter, Instagram, Gitter, Threads and Truth Social at Iowa Politics.

I'm Jeff Stein on News Dark 1540, KXEL.