Trump’s Plan Puts Pharma First

Posted at 8:23 PM on May 16, 2018

Last Friday, President Trump unveiled his blueprint to lower drug prices named American Patients First. Sadly, the Administration’s plan excludes Trump’s campaign promises to use the massive buying power of the government’s Medicare program to negotiate lower prices for older Americans and provide greater access to imported, lower-cost medications.The stock markets gave drug companies a big boost after the speech and pharma shareholders a big sigh of relief that drug prices would not be coming down anytime soon.

On the margins, Trump’s proposals might yield small improvements on drug prices, including some savings in Medicare and lower co-payment, but the proof is in the follow through. Overall, President Trump’s plan is yet another giveaway to the pharmaceutical industry and falls far short of what is needed to end the crisis of high drug prices.

Here are some links to comprehensive analyses of President Trump’s, American Patients First proposal:

KEI Statement on Trump Administration Efforts to Force Price Increases for Drugs Sold in Foreign Countries

Public Citizen Analysis: What to Expect from President Trump’s Upcoming Speech on Prescription Drug Prices

MSF Responds to President Trump’s Speech on Drug Pricing

Loading Conversation

BLOG POST

Trump’s Plan Puts Pharma First

Tags

Archives