Early moves by the president raise questions about what direction his second-term policy on drug costs will take.

Bracing for a federal funding drought and higher state costs for Medicare and Medicaid, Gov. Ned Lamont urged pharma executives to work with Hartford

Trump rescinded Executive Order 14087, "Lowering Prescription Drug Costs for Americans," which directed Medicare and Medicaid agencies to research and implement models for lowering the costs of prescription drugs. Separate provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 also aimed at lower prescription drug costs are still in effect.

Drugmakers raised the list prices of more than 800 prescription drugs for blood pressure, cancer and other conditions by a median 4% at the start of this year.The modest size of the annual increases could help companies avoid criticism of gouging from President Trump while seeking his administration’s support for such priorities as taking aim at the rebates given to middlemen and altering a federal program providing discounts to certain hospitals.

Pharmaceutical companies have already raised the price of over 800 brand-name prescription drugs this year. Nearly all the price increases are under 10%, with the median increase across all the affected medications being 4%,