Alex Azar, President Trump’s pick to lead Health and Human Services, said that no company has ever lowered a price for a brand name drug because the current system doesn’t incentivize it.
Azar is a former CEO of the U.S. division for drugmaker Eli Lilly and withstood questioning from Democrats during his confirmation hearing before the Senate Finance Committee.
Ranking member Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., pointed out that several drugs rose in price under Azar’s tenure at Lilly from 2012 to 2017.
He pointed to the bone-growth drug Forteo that rose in price from $1,032 to $2,728 under Azar’s tenure at Lilly.
He also pointed to a drug called Strattera to treat ADHD that more than doubled.
Wyden asked Azar if he signed off on a decrease from a drug while he was the chairman of the company’s pricing committee.
Azar did not respond to the question, and instead bristled that “drug prices are too high. I said that when I was at Lilly.”
He added he doesn’t know of any brand-name drug that has ever lowered in price.
“Every incentive in this system is towards higher prices,” Azar said. “No one company is going to fix that system. That is why I want to be here working with you.”
Azar’s pharma ties are a major area of concern for Democrats, who question if he will do enough to fight high prices if he gets confirmed to HHS.
“All drug prices are too high in this country,” Azar said in response to further questions on his tenure.
Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., asked if Azar supports giving Medicare negotiating powers to lower drug prices, a key Democratic reform.
“Where the government doesn’t have negotiation it is worth looking at that,” Azar responded.
He said that Medicare Part D, the program’s drug plan which Azar helped implement while serving at HHS in the Bush administration, can negotiate for lower prices. However, Medicare Part B that covers services like doctor visits and hospitalization cannot negotiate for lower drug prices.
