Tuesday, January 31, 2017

After meeting with pharma lobbyists, Trump drops promise to negotiate drug prices

http://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/1/31/14453740/trump-medicare-prescription-drugs
"The United States doesn’t have a nationalized health care system, but we do have Medicare for senior citizens, and since the USA is a very large country, that’s still a huge potential bulk purchaser. But a 2003 law written by congressional Republicans and signed by George W. Bush prohibits the federal government from using that negotiating power. As recently as January 11, President-elect Trump was promising to revisit this policy. “Pharma has a lot of lobbies, a lot of lobbyists and a lot of power. And there’s very little bidding on drugs,” he said at a press conference at Trump Tower in Manhattan. “We’re the largest buyer of drugs in the world, and yet we don’t bid properly.” Today he apparently changed his mind. According to Herb Jackson, the designated pool reporter for the day, Trump’s new policy on prescription drugs is that drug companies should get tax cuts and deregulation"

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