The White House’s consumer-directed drug website TrumpRx.gov, which launched in February, recently announced two significant expansions. President Donald Trump said last week that 160 more prescription drugs will be added to the Truth Social media platform. The news comes just weeks after a May White House event announced that TrumpRx would add 600 generic drugs.
Although the direct-to-consumer model is new to the federal government, the idea of a middle man bringing drug savings to consumers is not true: GoodRx.com has been around for 15 years, offering comparison shopping, coupon codes and a subscription-based model for deep discounts through partnerships with pharmacy benefit managers.
And in 2022, businessman Mark Cuban of Shark Tank fame introduced Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Co. MCCPDC’s website, CostPlusDrugs.com, gives people access to low-cost generic drugs and uses a transparent payment structure. TrumpRx’s expansion into generics comes through partnerships with Cost Plus Drugs and GoodRx, as well as Amazon Pharmacy.
TrumpRx was relatively small at first, with discounts available on only 43 drugs, mostly weight loss and fertility drugs, so these latest announcements mark a significant expansion of the platform. The White House touted the move as a push to lower costs and increase transparency in the notorious drug marketplace.
The industry takes it seriously.
The site’s “imprints” … can set the stage within the daily experience of American cash-paying patients, “an article in a trade publication. Pharmaceutical Commerce looked at.
The implications could be huge, the article warned, forcing the industry to be more transparent and honest about how drugs are sold.
“Pricing benchmarks are also becoming more visible and effective… Patient expectations about how much a drug should cost may begin to focus on those figures, creating internal pressure on manufacturers to balance” the myriad – and often vastly different – price ranges that patients must navigate today.
What common medications are on the TrumpRx site?
The recently announced expansion, especially the coverage of hundreds of generic drugs, makes it easier for many of the drugs that Americans take every day to be covered. The government notes that TrumpRx does not include controlled substances, drugs that are generally not available through direct-to-consumer channels or are currently undergoing certain types of FDA testing.
Below were the top 10 most commonly prescribed medications in 2025, according to analytics firm Definitive Healthcare. They include common remedies for heart, thyroid and nervous conditions, among others. Everything is listed on TrumpRx by one or more partners.
- Atorvastin (Lipitor)
- Amlodipine besylate (Norvasc)
- Levothyroxine sodium (Synthroid)
- Lisinopril (Zestril, Prinivil)
- Gabapentin (Neurontin, Gralise)
- Losartan potassium (Cozaar)
- Omeprazole (Prilosec)
- Amoxicillin (Augmentin)
- Metformin (Glucophage)
- Sertraline (Zoloft)
Will TrumpRx make your medicine cheaper?
The short answer is “maybe”; the long answer is “it depends.” The bottom line is that getting to the bottom of that question involves a lot of moving parts, and keep track of your health care and prescription costs completely.
TrumpRx does not actually sell drugs, as the site’s FAQ explains. Instead, it directs customers to manufacturer savings programs or participating pharmacies where consumers can use coupon codes provided by TrumpRx.
But TrumpRx isn’t the only place patients can go to find deals. In addition to sites like CostPlusDrugs and GoodRx, some pharmaceutical companies, such as Eli Lilly, have their own direct-to-consumer online stores where customers can get discounts.
First, people with insurance probably won’t save money using TrumpRx. Most insurance co-pays for prescriptions are lower than the prices you pay yourself, even with a discount. The site acknowledges this, encouraging users to check their insurance coverage first. In addition, the out-of-pocket costs you pay do not count toward your health insurance deductible.
Most of the discounts shown are huge, ranging from 33% to 93%. But these percentages are based on the actual list prices of few, if any, customers will pay after insurance- and pharmacy-negotiated discounts are taken into account.
“For… many brand-name drugs, people are likely to get a better deal through their insurance than buying a drug through a consumer-oriented website,” Juliette Cubanski, deputy director of the research organization KFF’s Medicare Policy program, told CNBC in February.
Some of the more expensive brand-name drugs on the TrumpRx site are already available in cheaper generic versions than the discounted brand-name drugs on TrumpRx.
In addition, it is important to read the fine print; some discounted prices on TrumpRx are only for the first course of the drug — say, the first month of treatment — after which the price increases. And the discounted prices advertised are, in some cases, temporary promotions.
For popular drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy, which insurance rarely covers — or only covers for a limited time or for certain conditions (such as diabetes or sleep apnea) — TrumpRx can save money. But again, there are other factors to consider.
For example, in some cases, self-pay customers may be able to receive discounts or coupons directly from the drug manufacturer. (It’s a good idea to check the manufacturer’s website first if you need an expensive prescription that isn’t covered by insurance.)
If you choose to pay yourself rather than go through your insurance, your purchases may not count towards your co-pay or out-of-pocket costs. This is also in return for using GoodRx, MCCPDC and other direct-to-consumer sites, although a recent agreement reached between the Federal Trade Commission and pharmacy benefit manager Express Scripts may pave the way for direct-to-pay drug purchases to count against these limits in the future.
The main point? Don’t assume that TrumpRx will give you the best deal on drug prices. “There may be patients who think this is a good deal and end up in a worse situation financially,” said Rachel Sachs, a law professor who studies drug pricing at Washington University in St. Louis. Times.
While it’s smart to include TrumpRx in the list of sites you check when shopping for prescriptions, in the end, it may not make a big difference in your prescription costs.
For many Americans, it’s likely that adding one more platform to the already confusing drug marketplace will make the hunt for cheap drugs even more difficult.
