WASHINGTON — With 50 days to go before the 2020 election, President Trump is taking his wildest swing yet at the pharmaceutical industry. He’s likely to miss, but that might not matter.
There’s virtually no chance that the policies his administration rolled out on Sunday will save Americans any money on prescription medicines before Election Day. The scheme, to cap how much Medicare pays for drugs based on lower prices in foreign countries, can’t realistically be implemented by Nov. 3. Even if Trump tries a risky regulatory workaround, any changes would almost surely be delayed by a pharmaceutical industry legal challenge.
A presidential whirlwind of activity is no substitute for results. Medicare Rx drug pricing (Part D) was legislated by Congress; it forbid competitive bidding for Rx drugs. This prohibition is totally insane and anti-competitive. No matter what Trump does with his administrative ‘signing,’ the next President can kill it in the same way that Trump killed all of Obama’s administrative signing letters.
For a President who alleges that he abhors socialism, he does not hesitate to use his authority to make government, top-down policy decrees, which is how socialist governments work.
Both political parties need to inform the PhRMA lobby that the U.S. is a capitalist country in which competition is welcomed, while legislating fixed high prices for Rx drugs without competitive bidding (unlike the rest of the world for requires it) violates free market principles. The U.S.’s highest-in-the-world Rx drug prices are proof that the Rx drug market is not competitive.
Unbelievably biased article!
First – your headline doesn’t match the article. Headline says “will not save Americans money”. Period. The article says “will not same money in time for the election”. Shameful word play.
Another one: Article says the policy is “wildly popular with Trump’s base”. The very next sentence says 87% popularity includes 84% approval among the Democrats.
There are many other instances, including derogatory adjectives sprinkled throughout. This illustrates not just biased reporting but desperation on your part.
so why would these authors along with the BIAS media promote the US citizens paying the highest prices in the world for drugs at 3 to 5x what other countries pay for the same drugs ; in fact in year 2018 around 365 BILLION was spent on drugs in the US and copays rise every year along with deductibles against Medicare part D members ; also why would congress pass a bill making it illegal for the HHS to negotiate Parts D prices which are 70% higher for the same drugs then at the VA ; congress is all owned by K street ; why do you think no president in the last 40 years ever tried this maneuver