Michael Cannon of the Cato Institute on Drug Pricing and the Government
October 1, 2025
Michael Cannon is the Director of Health Policy Studies at the libertarian Cato Institute. He's an aggressive opponent of government involvement in health care, including of price controls and de facto government setting of prices. We'll talk about yesterday's surprise announcement by Pfizer of a drug-pricing agreement with the federal government.
Michael F. Cannon | Cato Institute
White House Unveils ‘TrumpRx’ Drug-Buying Site and a Pfizer Pricing Deal - WSJ
Interesting quote from CNN article: "The TrumpRx site, which will not go live until early 2026, will not sell or distribute medications, a senior administration official told reporters Tuesday. Consumers will be able search for their medicines and will be redirected to manufacturers’ direct-to-consumer channels."
Pfizer's press release: Pfizer Reaches Landmark Agreement with U.S. Government to Lower Drug Costs for American Patients | Pfizer
White House press release: Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Announces First Deal to Bring Most-Favored-Nation Pricing to American Patients – The White House
Unsurprisingly, Michael is not a fan of the Trump/Pfizer collab:
I put the Trump Rx and MFN ideas in different categories.
— Michael F. Cannon 🇮🇪🇺🇸 (@mfcannon) September 30, 2025
Trump Rx is a garden-variety, within-normal-parameters bad idea. If it provides value, the private sector will do it. If it doesn’t provide value, the government should not subsidize it.