May 11, 2018

Trump Proposes to Cut Drug Prices by Allowing Companies to Charge More

Julien Behal/PA Wire via ZUMA

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From the New York Times:

President Trump will lay out on Friday a broad strategy to reduce prescription drug prices, but in a break from one of his most popular campaign promises, he will not call for Medicare to negotiate lower prices with drug manufacturers, senior administration officials said.

I am shocked that Trump is breaking this campaign promise. Who would ever have guessed? So what will he be proposing?

The administration will, as expected, put pressure on foreign countries to relax drug price controls, in the belief that pharmaceutical companies can then lower prices in the United States.

So Trump is proposing to increase drug prices overseas and then do nothing to leverage this into lower prices here. Sounds great! I can hardly wait for this novel approach to slash my prescription bill.

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We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

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