Pfizer will raise the prices of 41 drugs in January, amid escalating Trump administration efforts to lower prescription drug prices and months after President Trump’s intervention forced the largest U.S. drugmaker to postpone planned cost increases.
The hikes, first reported by the Wall Street Journal, will affect 5 percent of the company’s total drug portfolio and will be offset with higher rebates and discounts, Pfizer said in a statement. The Trump administration is expected to try to overhaul the drug rebate program, an effort departing CEO Ian Read previously told investors would advance in 2018.
“We believe the best means to address affordability of medicines is to reduce the growing out-of-pocket costs that consumers are facing due to high deductibles and co-insurance, and ensure that patients receive the benefit of rebates at the pharmacy counter,” Read said in a statement.
After Trump blasted the company on Twitter earlier this year, Pfizer vowed to delay a 10 percent price increase for more than 40 of its drugs to give the administration the opportunity “to strengthen the healthcare system and provide more access for patients.”
Analysts anticipated the company would move forward with cost hikes in January and expect other companies to follow suit.
The industry is bracing for increased oversight and potential legislation on drug costs once Democrats take control of the House in January. The White House recently announced a proposal to tie reimbursement for drugs under Medicare Part B to international prices, a shift that is expected to face enormous backlash from drugmakers. Read previously said it “imports price controls from abroad into the U.S.”
