SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Activists hold a demonstration outside of Eli Lilly offices in New York City on September 5, 2019. (Photo: Erik McGregor/LightRocket via Getty Images)
'Reveals Just How Out of Touch This President Is': Trump Panned Over Blatant Lie That He Made Insulin Cheap 'Like Water'
"Like just about everything else he has said over the last five years, Donald Trump's claims on lowering drug prices in last night's debate, particularly his outrageous claim about insulin, were nothing but spin and lies."
Sep 30, 2020
A coalition of progressive advocacy groups fighting to lower drug prices in the U.S. took President Donald Trump to task Wednesday for falsely claiming during the first 2020 general election debate that his administration made insulin "cheap like water," an assertion belied by the large sums Americans continue to pay for the lifesaving diabetes medicine.
"Calling insulin 'cheap as water' reveals just how out of touch this president is with the millions of Americans who must continue to ration critical medicines every single day."
--Margarida Jorge, Lower Drug Prices Now
"Like just about everything else he has said over the last five years, Donald Trump's claims on lowering drug prices in last night's debate, particularly his outrageous claim about insulin, were nothing but spin and lies," Margarida Jorge, campaign director for Lower Drug Prices Now, said in a statement.
"Calling insulin 'cheap as water' reveals just how out of touch this president is with the millions of Americans who must continue to ration critical medicines every single day because of Trump's failure to follow through on his promises to hold Big Pharma accountable and lower drug prices," Jorge continued. "Drug prices for Americans are the highest in the world, and three and a half years into Trump's presidency--in the middle of a pandemic--the prices have continued to go up faster than any other medical good or service."
During a discussion on healthcare at Tuesday night's presidential debate, Trump touted his administration's supposed success in lowering the costs of insulin and other prescription medicines.
"I'll give you an example: Insulin. it was destroying families, destroying people, the cost. I'm getting it for so cheap it's like water, you want to know the truth. So cheap," Trump said, remarks that were not met with any real-time pushback from Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden or debate moderator Chris Wallace.
STAT reported following the debate that contrary to Trump's claim, "insulin still retails for roughly $300 a vial," and "most patients with diabetes need two to three vials per month, and some can require much more."
Outraged by Trump's comments, several Twitter users posted pictures of receipts for their recent insulin orders:
In late July, Trump signed a series of executive orders that he touted as "historic" initiatives to lower the costs of prescription drugs, including insulin. But critics warned at the time that the orders were largely toothless and would provide little relief to the millions of Americans paying exorbitant costs for drugs that are far cheaper in other wealthy nations.
"While some of these proposals could help a limited number of people access insulin or EpiPens, they are pathetically small compared to the massive executive power Trump could use to make medicine affordable and available for all, if he were willing to stand up to Big Pharma," Peter Maybarduk, director of Public Citizen's Access to Medicines program, told the Los Angeles Times.
As PolitiFact noted late Tuesday, Trump's insulin executive order "targeted a select group of healthcare providers that represent fewer than 2% of the relevant outlets for insulin. Between 2017 and 2018, insulin prices for seniors rose."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
A coalition of progressive advocacy groups fighting to lower drug prices in the U.S. took President Donald Trump to task Wednesday for falsely claiming during the first 2020 general election debate that his administration made insulin "cheap like water," an assertion belied by the large sums Americans continue to pay for the lifesaving diabetes medicine.
"Calling insulin 'cheap as water' reveals just how out of touch this president is with the millions of Americans who must continue to ration critical medicines every single day."
--Margarida Jorge, Lower Drug Prices Now
"Like just about everything else he has said over the last five years, Donald Trump's claims on lowering drug prices in last night's debate, particularly his outrageous claim about insulin, were nothing but spin and lies," Margarida Jorge, campaign director for Lower Drug Prices Now, said in a statement.
"Calling insulin 'cheap as water' reveals just how out of touch this president is with the millions of Americans who must continue to ration critical medicines every single day because of Trump's failure to follow through on his promises to hold Big Pharma accountable and lower drug prices," Jorge continued. "Drug prices for Americans are the highest in the world, and three and a half years into Trump's presidency--in the middle of a pandemic--the prices have continued to go up faster than any other medical good or service."
During a discussion on healthcare at Tuesday night's presidential debate, Trump touted his administration's supposed success in lowering the costs of insulin and other prescription medicines.
"I'll give you an example: Insulin. it was destroying families, destroying people, the cost. I'm getting it for so cheap it's like water, you want to know the truth. So cheap," Trump said, remarks that were not met with any real-time pushback from Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden or debate moderator Chris Wallace.
STAT reported following the debate that contrary to Trump's claim, "insulin still retails for roughly $300 a vial," and "most patients with diabetes need two to three vials per month, and some can require much more."
Outraged by Trump's comments, several Twitter users posted pictures of receipts for their recent insulin orders:
In late July, Trump signed a series of executive orders that he touted as "historic" initiatives to lower the costs of prescription drugs, including insulin. But critics warned at the time that the orders were largely toothless and would provide little relief to the millions of Americans paying exorbitant costs for drugs that are far cheaper in other wealthy nations.
"While some of these proposals could help a limited number of people access insulin or EpiPens, they are pathetically small compared to the massive executive power Trump could use to make medicine affordable and available for all, if he were willing to stand up to Big Pharma," Peter Maybarduk, director of Public Citizen's Access to Medicines program, told the Los Angeles Times.
As PolitiFact noted late Tuesday, Trump's insulin executive order "targeted a select group of healthcare providers that represent fewer than 2% of the relevant outlets for insulin. Between 2017 and 2018, insulin prices for seniors rose."
A coalition of progressive advocacy groups fighting to lower drug prices in the U.S. took President Donald Trump to task Wednesday for falsely claiming during the first 2020 general election debate that his administration made insulin "cheap like water," an assertion belied by the large sums Americans continue to pay for the lifesaving diabetes medicine.
"Calling insulin 'cheap as water' reveals just how out of touch this president is with the millions of Americans who must continue to ration critical medicines every single day."
--Margarida Jorge, Lower Drug Prices Now
"Like just about everything else he has said over the last five years, Donald Trump's claims on lowering drug prices in last night's debate, particularly his outrageous claim about insulin, were nothing but spin and lies," Margarida Jorge, campaign director for Lower Drug Prices Now, said in a statement.
"Calling insulin 'cheap as water' reveals just how out of touch this president is with the millions of Americans who must continue to ration critical medicines every single day because of Trump's failure to follow through on his promises to hold Big Pharma accountable and lower drug prices," Jorge continued. "Drug prices for Americans are the highest in the world, and three and a half years into Trump's presidency--in the middle of a pandemic--the prices have continued to go up faster than any other medical good or service."
During a discussion on healthcare at Tuesday night's presidential debate, Trump touted his administration's supposed success in lowering the costs of insulin and other prescription medicines.
"I'll give you an example: Insulin. it was destroying families, destroying people, the cost. I'm getting it for so cheap it's like water, you want to know the truth. So cheap," Trump said, remarks that were not met with any real-time pushback from Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden or debate moderator Chris Wallace.
STAT reported following the debate that contrary to Trump's claim, "insulin still retails for roughly $300 a vial," and "most patients with diabetes need two to three vials per month, and some can require much more."
Outraged by Trump's comments, several Twitter users posted pictures of receipts for their recent insulin orders:
In late July, Trump signed a series of executive orders that he touted as "historic" initiatives to lower the costs of prescription drugs, including insulin. But critics warned at the time that the orders were largely toothless and would provide little relief to the millions of Americans paying exorbitant costs for drugs that are far cheaper in other wealthy nations.
"While some of these proposals could help a limited number of people access insulin or EpiPens, they are pathetically small compared to the massive executive power Trump could use to make medicine affordable and available for all, if he were willing to stand up to Big Pharma," Peter Maybarduk, director of Public Citizen's Access to Medicines program, told the Los Angeles Times.
As PolitiFact noted late Tuesday, Trump's insulin executive order "targeted a select group of healthcare providers that represent fewer than 2% of the relevant outlets for insulin. Between 2017 and 2018, insulin prices for seniors rose."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.
To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good.
News & Opinion
Trending
Common Dreams, Inc. Founded 1997. Registered 501(c3) Non-Profit
Privacy Policy