We Need Drug Pricing Legislation, Not Flimsy Letters to Trump’s Big Pharma Buddies

Today, the White House announced that President Trump sent letters to 17 pharmaceutical companies, demanding they offer “most favored nation” pricing to Medicaid and will not offer other developed nations better prices for new drugs than prices offered in the United States.
 
The announcement also indicated the White House intends to work with manufacturers to sell drugs directly to patients and use trade pressures to force other countries to pay higher drug prices, repeating the drug corporation fairy tale that higher prices abroad would lower prices here.

Steve Knievel, Public Citizen Access to Medicines advocate, issued the following statement in response to the announcement:

“Actions speak louder than words, and despite President Trump’s crocodile tears about high drug prices, so far he has signed one multi-billion dollar giveaway to drug corporations and called on Congress to give them $10 billion more out of the pockets of seniors and people with disabilities by undermining Medicare drug price negotiations.

“Instead of letters we need legislation. If President Trump was serious about lowering drug prices for Americans, instead of promising to help drug corporations profiteer in other countries, he would work with Congress to pass legislation to lower prices here so Big Pharma can no longer charge U.S. patients and taxpayers the highest prices in the world.”