Hillary Clinton lamented the high cost of prescription drugs in the U.S. Monday, blaming the pharmaceutical industry for intentionally ratcheting up their prices.
Clinton claimed the firms responsible were retaliating against her for her attacks on the campaign trail.
“I’ve been criticizing the drug companies,” she said during an event in Davenport, Iowa. “They’re already coming after me.”
A Clinton campaign spokesperson pointed out after the event that the pharmaceutical industry’s top lobbying group, Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, had put out a statement denouncing Clinton’s drug plan.
“Secretary Clinton’s proposal would turn back the clock on medical innovation and halt progress against the diseases that patients fear most,” the PhRMA president reportedly said in September.
But the Democratic front-runner racked up financial support from major pharmaceutical firms in the first three quarters of 2015, a pattern unlikely to change in the campaign filings for the final quarter set to be made public later this month.
Executives from the pharmaceutical industry have poured more than $1 million into Clinton’s primary effort so far, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. In fact, the sector ranks among the top industrial donors to her campaign.
Clinton’s campaign has taken in nearly $40,000 from executives at Pfizer alone, Federal Election Commission records show.
Pfizer has also given at least $1 million to the Clinton Foundation.
Clinton’s plan to rein in the pharmaceutical industry includes capping out of pocket drug costs and forcing major companies to reinvest profits into research.
She has often walked a thin line between criticizing unpopular aspects of Obamacare, like the high price of prescription medicines, and embracing the signature legislative achievement of her Democratic predecessor.
