Democrats found a few things to like in President Trump’s plan to lower prescription drug prices, but blasted him for backing off a campaign proposal to allow Medicare to set drug prices.
The president delivered a long-anticipated speech Friday, calling his plan “the most sweeping action in history” to reduce how much the public spends on medicines. The blueprint he presented includes a proposal that drug companies list their prices in commercials, as well as revamping Medicare’s drug prescription plan, to prompt pharmacy benefit managers and insurers to share with consumers more of the rebates they get from drugmakers.
The administration also will target the low prices that other countries pay for U.S.-manufactured drugs in new trade agreements.
Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill, who is in a tough re-election battle in Missouri, said she was “glad” Trump wanted to ban a “gag rule” in Medicare’s prescription drug program that prevents pharmacists from informing consumers about cheaper ways to pay for drugs. McCaskill, with Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, introduced legislation to prohibit health insurers and pharmacy benefit managers from using gag clauses.
“I was pleased to hear the president condemn this egregious practice during his remarks this afternoon,” Collins said.
Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Colo., also said she was pleased that the president proposed allowing people on Medicare to receive generic drugs at no cost to them.
.@POTUS‘ #drugprices proposal contains some good ideas, such as providing free generic drugs to seniors, but in true Trump fashion, offers flash with little substance. His #GOPTaxScam handed pharmaceutical companies a huge tax break, and this plan gives back little to consumers.
— Rep. Diana DeGette (@RepDianaDeGette) May 11, 2018
Still, many Democrats criticized the plan.
“President Trump offered little more than window dressing to combat the rising cost of drugs – a problem that is pinching the pocketbook of far too many Americans,” said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y. He also called Trump’s plan to target other countries’ drug pricing “the height of absurdity that nobody believes.”
Democratic Sens. Ron Wyden of Oregon and Patrick Leahy of Vermont drew attention to the way pharmaceutical stocks jumped following the speech.
“The executives in pharmaceutical board rooms across the country are breathing a sigh of relief today,” Wyden said. “@realDonaldTrump still isn’t delivering on his promise to make prescription drugs more affordable.”
The execs in pharmaceutical board rooms across the country are breathing a sigh of relief today – @realDonaldTrump still isn’t delivering on his promise to make prescription drugs more affordable.
— Ron Wyden (@RonWyden) May 11, 2018
Democrats have been advocating for a more prominent government presence to bring down the cost of prescription drugs, including allowing the Medicare program to set prices and importing drugs from Canada. Republicans and members of the drug industry have pushed back on such proposals, saying that allowing the government to set drug prices would stymie drug development and have argued that drug re-importation would cause unsafe drugs to reach the public.
But Trump had deviated from many Republicans when he was running for office, saying that he favored allowing Medicare to negotiate, similar to the way countries with single-payer systems or socialized medicine operate. Shortly after his election he reiterated that stance, saying that pharmaceutical companies were “getting away with murder” in the way they set prices. The comments caused drug stocks to tumble.
On Friday, his administration made it clear that he no longer supports allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices, a position Democrats blasted while also decrying many of the items he did propose as likely to be ineffective.
“The president made clear today that he will not keep the promises he made during the campaign to lower the outrageously high cost of prescription drugs,” said Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., who has introduced bills to allow re-importation and Medicare negotiation. “Instead, he has become a supporter of the pharmaceutical industry’s extraordinary greed.”
The president made clear today that he will not keep the promises he made during the campaign to lower the outrageously high cost of prescription drugs. Instead, he has become a supporter of the pharmaceutical industry’s extraordinary greed.
— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) May 11, 2018
Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., who also supports re-importation and Medicare negotiation proposals, drew attention to the president’s previous support in a statement.
“Talk is cheap, and prescription drugs aren’t,” she said. “I appreciate the president talking about this issue and putting forward some proposals to boost competition in the pharmaceutical market, but we need more action.”
Republicans received the president’s proposal will more optimism, saying they believed lower prices were likely. Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., praised the plan as “sweeping, comprehensive, and sophisticated.”
Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., said: “He laid out a way to take power away from special interests — protecting innovation, but not protecting drug monopolies. This plan will lower prices in the near term and continue to lower prices in different ways over the next several years. We are going to make healthcare affordable again.”
