Shocker!!
This known liar and charlatan is breaking a campaign promise...glad the NYT reported, but this a) is totally expected, and b) will never trickle down to those dolts who support this clown.
He's president to inflate his ego, to make himself rich, and enrich his friends.
2
The VA has been able to negotiate prices for many years. The price difference between the VA price and the EU countries prices are inequitable. An article published in WAPO when Pfizer wanted to buy Allergan and move to Ireland compared the VA price of Lyrica to that of Ireland: $2.36 vs $0.53 per pill.
US taxpayers pay the difference between the flat VA benefit cost and the negotiated price. The way Medicare works, when patients have a co-pay, their Advantage program pays the difference.
So even IF Medicare was allowed to negotiate prices, the benefit might not be that great.
1
How anyone could be naive and shortsighted enough to support this boob is beyond imagination. Having Trump as our President makes me feel shame as an American. The sooner we get rid of this guy the better. Future historians will have to reflect and ponder how this ugly footnote in American history came to be. To my American brethren, please read, watch, listen to reliable and reputable news reporting and vote!
6
No surprise here. When will the American people wake up to this con artist?
2
I do think that making price parity with other countries is a good start. Based on that alone the need to negotiate prices for Medicare users may not be needed quite so much.
It's early to tell which would give the greatest benefit, I'm looking fotward to seeing how well this turns out.
I wonder why this wasn't proposed by earlier presidents...
This is a blatant give away to the pharmaceutical industry. Allowing CMS (Medicare) to negotiate drug prices would be the most beneficial thing that could be done to lower drug prices for millions of people. Instead Trump will nibble around the edges that will help no one. Just like his big beautiful health plan that was going to give us all better benefits at a lower cost. Good God almighty. There is a sucker born every minute.
3
And in a not at all shocking turn of events, Trump supporters seem to think he is still challenging Big Pharma. Ignorance Is Bliss should be Trump's 2020 campaign slogan.
1
This is not news. News is supposed to report the unusual or unexpected. At best the NYT could publish this later as part of a retrospective checklist as the R's and Trump continue checking off items in their war on humans.
1
Infuriating!! With one agreement the President and his cabinet could help millions....I repeat millions of our fellow citizens. The ACA debacle of neutering Medicare's ability to negotiate the confiscatory drug prices is ridiculous. This one act has forced prices upwards fattening the greed of pharma and diminishing the returns for physicians, hospitals, and medicare recipients.
2
You either pay to play like Novartis or you go home. This administration revels in graft and greed. Why would anyone be surprised?
3
And yet our do nothing senators who work maybe 3 days a week get top notch healthcare on OUR dime, it's time to take back our country from the thieves in Washington. And come November we'll do just that vote every republican out of office.
1
Surprise surprise, surprise!
5
So I guess he'll still pay the same for Viagra and Propecia?
Ha. First of all he has govt health insurance (single payer but better!) so he's set for life. Second even outside the government you can be sure he always had the best concierge service while he was stiffing his contractors' legal and illegal immigrant workers who couldn't even dream of having the time to wait for the only health care available--emergency wards, which of course cost us all more than any other kind off health care.
3
Gee big surprise!!
Trump breaking a promise?
My my who woulda thunknit!
3
Fat Donald folds again.
4
Trump never intended on doing anything that would harm big pharma's profits. Mulvaney said it best when he declared that he only speaks to paying supporters. Big pharma are big Republican donors!
5
I have about as much confidence that Trump will make any effort to help Medicare negotiate drug prices that have that he will do anything about gun violence.
2
I see. Trump feels if he can get other countries to treat their citizens as shabbily as we do on drug prices, then Americans will feel better by comparison. Brilliant.
3
Of course he is dropping his promise for Medicare to negotiate (Obama's plan foiled by Congress). Can we say, Novartis, 1.2 million dollars?
2
This is not a surprise, for the same reason that it was no surprise that President Bush and the Republican-majority Congress did not push for this in 2003 as part of the Medicare legislation back then: the Republicans did not, and do not, want to do anything to potentially limit the profit margins of pharmaceutical companies, many of which undoubtedly donate generously to Republicans.
The disappointment, if not necessarily surprise, was that President Obama and the Democratic-majority Congress also refused to push for this in 2009-10 as part of the PPACA. This can only lead to the conclusions that the Democrats (1) were, and are, as on the take from Big Pharma as the Republicans and (2) had, and still have, the same motivation as the Republicans in terms of not wanting to upset major donors.
Hey Democratic Party? It's stuff like this that has convinced a great many voters that you're no different from the Republican Party because you're as corrupt, and as indifferent to the everyday concerns of ordinary people, as your political opponents. It's stuff like this that demoralizes enough of your base to keep them home one Election Day after another. If you want to change this, then change your policies to the benefit of ordinary people instead of to big-money donors. Otherwise, prepare to keep lamenting (but not actually doing anything about) winnable elections that slipped away.
2
Allowing pharmaceutical companies to charge more in foreign countries in the expectation that they will lower prices here is like spreading your case of the flu to as many people as possible in the expectation you will be less sick.
2
This is Manchurian Candidate level nuts. Once again he's going to place the blame for a problem on our allies and demand that they do something they clearly are not going to do. The expected end result is US isolation and loss of prosperity. Each time he does this it becomes easier for the rest of the world to ignore our interests and ally themselves with Russia and China.
1
Lie after Lie after Lie from this administration. Every campaign promise made, broken.
Yeah, why would he do that? It would benefit our country at the expense of corporate profits.
8
Mr Trump hits home runs on foreign policy but sadly enough on domestic issues he continues to strike out. If Trump would tackle single payer universal health care the same exact thing he praised Australia for in his first week in office, then he would be re-elected in a landslide, but over and over on the issues that affect the vast majority of American citizens he never fails to think only of the donor class, who will stop any program that promises to divert tax dollars and borrowed dollars from the military industrial complex, even though health care is the issue that most Americans are concerned about. The democrats will run on health care and win in 2018, and again in 2020. The strange part is that Trump doesn't seem to understand how vital an issue health care is in the upcoming elections. his singular legislative victory-tax breaks for the rich-will be the one that destroys him, in comparison to what American really need. The security of having guaranteed, no cost health care for life, the same as ...Australia.
1
What home runs on foreign policy are you referring to? His willingness to meet with a despot that every past president has refused to speak to, who runs his country like a concentration camp and executed his own uncle with a cannon, because the despot will no longer test nuclear devices in a cave that has now collapsed anyway from all the prior tests? His willingness to acquiesce in having a foreign enemy power take over our electoral process without objection as long as it benefits him? His green light to Iran to re-start their own nuclear weapons program? Home runs. Right.
2
I'll bet that the only person, other than Trump and Cohen, who can explain why Trump won't allow negotiation with pharmaceuticals is Robert Mueller, and he's not talking.
2
The media has to start discussing how drug and insurance costs are regulated in other democracies, for their citizens' benefit. Show the contrast in how profit rules here.
This contrast is avoided on US media, since profit is equated with Freedom from big govt. This allowes exploitation of millions who are unprotected by the govt they elect. But if our TV pundits and columnists really exposed this as they should, they'd be sidelined, and labeled as too left wing. So they kind of accept it and say too bad.
Political parties abroad don't raise campaign donations from drug/insurance corporations. Their medical industry has to sacrifice some profit--- they don't make their citizens sacrifice their access to affordable medicine. That would be intolerable to US corporations.
Europe doesn’t even allow the direct to consumer pharma ads, since medicine is a doctor/patient matter, not marketed like any consumer product for profit. Here drug ads flood our TV 24/7.
Also EU countries ban the US style privately paid ads for election campaigns. They aim to avoid special interests dominating political communications.
NYT says US TV ad spending by pharma more than doubled in the past 4 years, making it the 2nd -fastest-growing category on television.
The US and New Zealand are the only 2 countries allowing direct to consumer prescription drug ads.
W. Post---- Amer Medical Assoc urges ban on TV drug ads, since marketing costs fuel escalating drug prices.
1
U.S. Media lives on drug ads. All media today is overpaid.
Advertisers rule.
1
Gee, got to wonder what other pharmaceuticals paid Cohen. And how much of that money made its way into the bank accounts of Trump's LLCs via Cohen?
Follow the money.
9
There are two obvious things to do that will disrupt the system where American consumers are subsidizing the cost of drug development for the rest of the world.
1. Mandate that all pharmaceuticals that are being produced under patent be manufactured within the United States.
2. Put an export fee on patent pharmaceuticals that will bring the cost in other countries up to the cost in America. As a result, costs in other countries will rise quite a bit, and American costs will go down quite a bit.
1
First of all who with even half a brain believed that Trump would keep this promise and actually help ordinary Americans?
Also where is the wonderful and affordable health care he was going to provide? Never believed that either.
5
Yet again, the President and republicans are going to break another major campaign promise that will effect the people ( the base ) the most that happened to vote for this administration. (the poor and the elderly)
When are they going to wake up and understand that the republican party does not care about you and is made up of individuals that cater to the rich and the corporations ?
4
Let me guess: They will give out Coupons. Basically worthless, with many, many rules and conditions. Guaranteed. DR. Trump and his Traveling Medicine Show. Thanks, GOP. November.
5
In view of their open hostility the Democrats cannot expect Trump to cooperate with them on anything. They might have thought of that before opposing everything he does and endlessly questioning his legitimacy.
2
How do we stop this disgraceful con-artist, when those who support him cannot tell the difference between the truth and a lie? We are desperately in need of a national campaign for smart.
4
"Republicans argue that the federal government has such overwhelming power as a buyer that it could basically set a price that manufacturers would have to comply with."
Let me see if I have this right: To Republicans:
1) Big businesses with monopolistic, or near monopolistic, control of the market (Telecom, pharma, agribusiness, etc.) with enormous size and power relative to the individual consumers forced to buy from them are a good thing (the ultimate end of endless corporate mergers).
2) Private industry is always much more efficient and better for those same consumers in all areas because the government can't do anything right, or cost effectively?
3) But letting Medicare negotiate with quasi-monopolistic pharma, (much closer in relative size and power than pharma to consumers) is not "fair", because they could force lower prices for the citizens they serve?
How does this make sense- at any level? Making a government agency more efficient is a bad thing? If they are as incompetent as the Republicans claim, how could they negotiate a better deal with the "superior" private sector?
Why shouldn't medication prices directly purchased through Medicare be cheaper, even if the manufacturer were allowed to get the same price (which they shouldn't be)? There would be no pharmacy benefit manager profit skimmed off the top.
Finally, why doesn't the media ask these questions- and demand real answers?
3
Chet, to you point 3, maybe the media doesn't ask that question (is it even a question?) because it already knows the answer. For example, the company that buys my Part
D drugs spends three times what the Federal government does on drugs so it drives a much better bargain than the $1200 toilet seat guys could drive. (It's a small company called CVS.)
1
The Swam wins again. Other countries are to blame for our high drug prices, because their single payor ("socialist") plans allow these governments (the payor, just at the US Government is the payor for Medicare) to actually negotiate drug prices?
No, the problem is that Big Pharma owns Trump and the Republican Party. We, and especially seniors, are the losers.
3
The same way the Federal Reserve taxed seniors with low interest rates for 11 years now to bail out deadbeats and wall street.
Whats new??
Keep those lies, flip-flops and broken campaign promises coming, Mr. President.
5
When Part D was passed, many of my fellow employees of the Social Security Administration recognized it for the welfare paid to the pharma industry that it was.
And has been.
And will remain.
5
The rich get richer and the poor get poorer...
In the meantime, in between time...
Ain't we got Trump.
3
“Other countries use socialized health care to command unfairly low prices from U.S. drugmakers,” said a summary provided by the White House on Thursday. “This places the burden of financing drug development largely on American patients and taxpayers, subsidizes foreign consumers, and reduces innovation and the development of new treatments.”
This is simply Big Pharma propaganda--nothing more, nothing less.
I'm going to be sick to my stomach. (Fortunately I can treat it over-the-counter.)
3
One thing is clear, the DC swamp dwellers shudder at the thought of Medicare negotiating fair prices for drugs.
The idea that governments with socialized medicine are able to force “unfair” drug prices is laughable.
Drug companies fear the open market.
2
Yet again, the President and republicans are going to break another major campaign promise that will effect the people ( the base ) the most that happened to vote for this administration. (the poor and the elderly)
When are they going to wake up and understand that the republican party does not care about you and is made up of individuals that cater to the rich and the corporations ?
2
Novartis' check to Cohen finally cleared!
18
Day care Donnie strikes again. What a tiresome, useless and pathetic excuse of a man.
8
The criticism of Trump for taking money from Novartis and then reneging on promises to lower drug prices, is well deserved.
But maybe we wouldn't have Trump, if Democrats hadn't nominated candidates every bit as big donor funded, as Trump, for years - until voters - and our media - have been numbed to any level of sleaze.
This is *not* a defense of Trump.
It is simply to state that we will get leaders even worse than Trump, if we don't advance candidates for our *own* parties, who have higher standards in terms of rejecting big donor money.
I don't like Trump, but if you try to nominate a Gillibrand, or a Schumer, I *will* vote third party. If you think I am alone in disgust at establishment Republicans *and* establishment Democrats, you are still in the bubble that thought Hillary over Trump was a sure thing.
8
Who knows? Maybe the Novartis payment to Cohen actually paid off. Trump is now trying to increase big Pharma's profits overseas even though that will have no impact on drug costs in the US.
3
Of course he's breaking his promise on lowering drug prices; Trump hasn't done a single thing since being in office except sign tax breaks for the wealthy. This move is just another gift to big corporations. How's that opioid crisis plan going by the way? But hey, between putting his own family and business partners in control of our government, paying off porn stars and golfing, I just don't know how our President finds time to get anything done. Be best, indeed.
28
Oh, you are so wrong. You are not giving Trump the credit he deserves! He has kept every promise that will damage this country's reputation, its citizens and the earth! Pulled out of Paris accords and now the Iran agreement, because, hey, we are not in enough middle east wars yet, we need to go to war with an Iran with nuclear weapons. Now the U.S. is a rogue nation, that does not keep its bargains, just like North Korea. No wonder Trump is getting along with rocket man these days -- he wants to emulate him and has proven he can by reneging on carefully negotiated agreements. Also is busy removing national monuments and coastal drilling protections and giving the land and seas over to Pruitt's industrial controllers to lay waste to at their discretion. And as for not doing anything in office except signing tax breaks for the wealthy and bankrupting the nation, not fair either. Look how much golf he has played at taxpayer expense. It's YUGE.
Does it occur to anyone else that other drug manufacturers may have paid large sums of money to Michael Cohen?
17
So other countries should pay more so we can pay less while the manufacturer achieves the same revenue? No, the issue is the unjustified, ever-increasing list prices for many drugs. All of the malefactors benefit by that.
There is an element of farce here. The manufacturer increases the asking price (likely undisclosed to the public) and the pharmacy benefit manager "negotiates" a discount that still leaves more in its pocket after passing some of the saving on to the patient.
Part of the solution would be a requirement for published list prices along with allowing negotiation by any purchaser.
9
I'm sure this will somehow be Obama's fault - and I'm sure his base will agree.
11
It actually is, in the sense that President Obama and the Democratic-majority Congress refused to change this when they had the chance in 2009-10.
So, Trump is breaking his campaign promise to lower drug prices.
One robber baron supporting other robber barons. No surprise.
22
Trump gets confused over the meaning of words. He struggles to speak clearly or with knowledge. When he said that he would "Drain The Swamp" he really meant "He Would Reign The Swamp". And Trump has "Reigned The Swamp". He has hired every low crawling, slithering, slimy, creature to fill his cabinet. He has removed all possible dams that could hold back the DC swamp waters. He has drowned all common decency, ethics, the rule of law, and damaged (hopefully not beyond repair) our governmental institutions. He embraced Russians, corruption, insider dealing, nepotism, white supremacists, fascism, etc. The scandals coming out of this presidency happen on a daily basis and are outright mind numbing. Hillary was slimy but Trump is the 5th horse of the Apocalypse.
20
How quickly we forget - easy when Medicare Part D was passed by congress in the wee hours of the morning. And that the legislation was crafted by Big Pharma and legislators who immediately left their government positions for $2 million annual salary. From WHOM you ask? Oh yeah - Big Pharma and their lobbyists.
27
Some might say the best predictor of future behavior is past behavior.
The so-called president has done NOTHING but enrich the already wealthy and serve the greed of the top 0.0001%.
Now he plans to put drug availability out of the reach of poor people outside the US as a trade-off for lower US drug prices.
Betcha he'll settle for one out of two.
12
“'Other countries use socialized health care to command unfairly low prices from U.S. drugmakers,' said a summary provided by the White House on Thursday."
So in other words, pharmaceutical prices will go *up* under the Trump plan, the way Trump's tariffs raise prices for consumers.
So why can't the U.S. "...use socialized health care to command unfairly low prices from U.S. drugmakers." Evidently it works, as it lowers drug prices.
We don't trust Trump who has surrounded himself with mediocre talent. It seems to me that if one is a Republican, he or she advocates competition in the marketplace. This lowers prices. Trying to lower them artificially is difficult, unless we have a national, single-payer healthcare system.
14
What tripe from Trump's toadies at the White House.
Other countries take steps to support their citizens and keep them well. They negotiate, obviously term with which our President is completely unfamiliar despite his bully boy bravado.
No one is holding a gun to the companies' heads, they sell because they can still make a fortune out your ill health.
America, on the other hand, thanks to Republican legislation yet again making America defenseless before corporate greed, is forced to say "thank you, sir' to corrupt executives able to sell at any price they demand.
This is an epic betrayal by Trump, more epic than those other epics.
He is a political Shkreli, committed only to his money and his self.
We do now, though, have absolute proof that the US government is fully Pay to Play, and Novartis among others is a very big player.
12
That's not true in the real marketplace. Every business seeks something monopolistic. Patents are the big prize. Why? No competition. Don't try to justify it with R&D. Even where the government fully funds the invention, private enterprise gets the patent. Honest
3
Anyone who believes Trump on this issue has cognitive issues for which there is no drug. Is there no issue that he doesn't try to fit into his "other devious countries take advantage of America and I'm gonna stop it" schtick?
So Trump seeks to con Americans into believing he is cutting drug prices, while keeping his commitment to big pharma to maintain their profits--while trying to raise prices in other countries with national health care?
6
If you think about it -- he's broken every campaign promise, but for the one's that most American's would like him to break -- ie: pushing for the wall, getting out of the tpp, climate agreement and on and on. He's seriously not well and can be bought so easily that if he doesn't get out of office soon, I fear we are all doomed, which we may be anyway, with brown-noser Mike (I can't be with another woman alone other than my mommy wife)
9
Everything Trump and his administration do is designed to help the already rich and powerful. Anything he promised to help the not so rich and powerful--better, cheaper healthcare, tax relief for the middle class, better wages--none of that is happening.
8
I would love to blame Trumpian incompetence and hipocracy for this, but it's not only him that the pharma lobby bought. They have all of Congress in their pockets as well. Republicans failed in 2003 as did Democrats under Obama.
To be fair, trying to bring down domestic prices by raising international prices is a uniquely terrible idea because it doesn't guarantee they will lower domestic prices (could just use to boost their own profits) and will infuriate our trading partners/allies. Everyone else negotiates prices...why not us? If the drug company's profits are hurt they can simply demand higher prices internationally. At least this way we get the same result and we don't appear to be starting a trade war with other countries.
7
Michael Cohen and Sean Hannity must have told him not to pressure big pharma. It's the only explanation that makes sense in any twist of reality.
9
Break promise, Lie. Break promise , lie. Repeat as necessary.
22
It will be interesting to see how Fox "News" spins this particular betrayal to Trump's base. Assuming of course that they mention it at all. It will probably receive at most a brief rushed side-comment immediately before the "newscasters" quickly segue into talking about something Hillary Clinton was rumored to have done 20 years ago.
8
Keep your friends happy 45, honestly I don't understand his base, they hear what they want to hear but don't listen. Does anyone believe anything this horrid little man has to say?
Drain the swamp, yes let's starting at POTUS.
5
The New York Times is telling a half truth when it writes:
"Under Part D of Medicare, millions of older Americans receive insurance coverage for prescription drugs, (a benefit) delivered entirely by private entities under contract with Medicare."
The Times wants you to think that that Part D process is unusual but in fact all Medicare benefits -- those in Parts A, B and C as well as Part D -- are "delivered entirely by private entities under contract" with the Medicare Trustees. They always have been and LBJ could not have passed Medicare in the first place in 1965 if he had not put that process in Sections 1816 (for Part A) and 1843 (for Part B) of the Original Medicare law. It is also the way Part C -- "invented" by two Democrats in 1995 and signed into law by President Clinton in 1997 -- works. There is nothing different or unusual about the way Medicare Part D benefits are delivered.
The New York Times and similar sources such as AARP and the National Council on Aging tell these lies and half truths about Medicare because it and they hate we seniors having a choice among Parts A, B, C and D.
2
So other countries dictate how much they will pay for drugs. But instead of having the US government do the same, we'll do this roundabout system in order to give a few people some savings, which will then lead to the drug companies raising costs for everyone else to maintain their profits.
7
He lies about everything constantly, so who's surprised he lied about this?
Further, he and the rest of the GOP are trying to steal Medicare and keep their Rx industry friends growing their profit margins year after year after year.
Monsters all.
28
When it comes to his vows and promises of hate - he keeps those. When it comes to keeping promises rather than make oodles of backdoor money through Cohen and likely many others, he is quick to break those promises for a buck. Did Novartis play a roll?
8
What a shock!
I never believe anything the president says - 20 minutes later, he'll say just the opposite.
14
If we are serious about driving down the cost of prescription drugs through competition then we need to remove the very real barrier to competition which results from marijuana prohibition. Opioid use is down in states where medicinal marijuana is allowed. Medicare costs, likewise. Tell the families who have uprooted their families to move to states where non psycho-active varieties of the plant are proven to vastly reduce seizures in children, so as to enable them to lead normal lives, that there is no medicinal value. And then explain to the rest of us how these same individuals risk criminal prosecution and the loss of their parental rights at the hands of Government agencies. Please explain why a veteran suffering from Post Trauma Stress Disorder must work outside of the VA system to receive an alternative to harsher albeit approved drugs?
As a laissez-faire Capitalist, I’d contend that we need to legalize marijuana so as to unleash a natural competitor to alcohol and other drugs which have shown themselves to be far more harmful. Truth be told, sugar is more dangerous to health and safety than marijuana. The price of prescription drugs will suffer downward pressure as a result of the availability of a cheaper alternative. This is not complicated. It is basic law of supply and demand.
5
How much in "contributions" has Trump accepted from Big Pharma for this decision? We must elect politicians who will regulate this industry as our nation grows older and sicker.
6
For Novaratis, this is a fantastic return on its $1.2 million investment.
43
trump's is just an
attempt to dictate laws in other counties and make it open for companies to inforce exclusivity to compounds, shut down competive compounds and set any price that they want world wide.
2
We have the best Government that money can buy. Government for the corporations paid for by the US Taxpayer. Isn't America great? Yes, if you are a Corporation.
28
Novartis paid $1.2 million to Michael Cohen for access to President Trump. With today's announcement, it sounds like they got their moneys worth. So I guess we wouldn't be seeing a memo from the Novartis CEO, like AT&T, that says paying Cohen was a bad move on their part. Just another profitable example of Pay-To-Play in the Swamp where Corporations win and the American People lose.
42
Like or not, he is correct. The negotiated prices from other countries put extra burden on US payers. The less they pay, the more we have to pay.
that makes no sense what-so-ever. It could be true if BigPharma wasn't making big profits, but they are.
10
It does make sense. This has been my professional area for almost forty years. It's a bedrock principle of pharmaceutical price discrimination. Maximize your profits in each separate country. The patent system encourages that. The good thing for them is that the U.S. uniquely refuses to control prices of patented products so the U.S. is always a market where they can make up for lower prices elsewhere. That they are hugely profitable is irrelevant. Their mission is to be as profitable as possible not as profitable as is reasonable.
1
More ammunition for the Democrats in November. I hope they use it.
12
The news is full of stories that Trump pulled out of the Iran nuclear treaty, the Paris climate change treaty, and the TPP because those were "campaign promises". So why doesn't he have to keep the promises he made which will help ordinary people, like lower drug prices?
17
Because those promises would help ordinary people instead of making the U.S. into a rogue state.
He will mostly cause the deaths of many of his supporters by doing this. They thought they had been left behind and voted for him. Now he will kill them by making drugs even more expensive.
6
Yep, some will die because of a lack of health care, some will be poisoned to death by dirty air and water and others will die in accidents because of a lack of workplace safety.
6
When will Americans wake up and get angry? This tired old back and forth that's been going on for decades. Canada, Great Britain, and Germany all have single payer, and it works. There is no going back to anything else for them, why aren't we there, too? I can't believe we're still debating.
19
You're still debating universal background checks for gun purchases for the exact same reason, money in politics!
3
I am no fan of Mr. Trump but after the election I tried to take heart that he would at least keep his promise to rein in big pharma. I could get behind him on that. I'm a cancer survivor and have experienced how insurance can dictate whether a sick person lives or dies. While going through treatment I was prescribed an oral chemo drug that was $10,000 a month. Luckily for me I had insurance that would cover it. My wife asked the pharmacist how people can afford this life saving med if they don't have insurance, she was told that they don't.
Recently I had another experience where I was hospitalized. My one week bill showed over $10,000 in medications, no itemization or real info. When I inquired about it the question I received was "didn't your insurance cover the cost?" Well yes they did but that doesn't make it right. What about those with no insurance I think to myself again.
As a society how can we find this acceptable. You take a drug to keep you alive, you take 2 or 3 drugs to help you manage the side effects, you get depressed and end up on another drug to help with that. What incentive does big pharma have to create cures when they can create long term expensive care for those that can afford it. When does it end? Why does insurance determine who lives and who dies based on medication costs?
Thanks for letting me down on the 1 thing I had hoped you could actually deliver on that could help so many of our most vulnerable in society.
64
That, me too. Lonsurf by any chance? An oral chemo that works great for me (knock on a wooden lobbyist's desk). My marriage is only held together by my wife's health insurance. We would both behappier otherwise but this keeps us somewhat unhappily married. Family values. Thank you, Michael Cohen.
4
Way to "drain the swamp," Mr. President! Thanks for nothing.
17
After Novartis paid big dollars for influence, the Liar in Chief noticed.
So now, he will wait to see how many $$$ he can personally get for being cosy with the drug manufacturers. The Grifter is reinventing the swamp.
52
Big Pharma + GOP + Trump = Americans paying unnecessarily high prescription drug costs
35
God forbid that Trump should ask Medicare to try and get the pharmaceuticals to charge less for their drugs, that would take money out of his pocket and his buddies.
We had better keep an eye on him though because he might ask them to go up in price.
10
Another day, another campaign promise broken with a bait-and-switch maneuver that includes an attack on our allies.
36
"In the belief that pharmaceutical companies can then lower prices in the United States."
I think I'm going to be ill.
38
I thought I was going to be ill as well ,then I remembered I can't afford to be ill.
12
To understand Trump's flip-flop, simply follow the money from big pharma to Cohen to the Trump organization.
49
So a half million from Novartis paid off! Their US sales were about $50 billion. Let's say $5 billion was at stake in terms of lowered negotiated prices. That's a 5,000 times return on investment. For just one year! Someone's getting a raise or fat bonus this Christmas. Break out the Lederhosen.
61
Is anyone surprised that he's changing his tack on this?! Hopefully, he can work out a better plan! And maybe, at the same time he can reign in the advertising methods of the pharmecuticals! It seems half of the TV commercials these days are for one drug or another! Ad nauseum, and the side effects of some of these drugs, sound worse than the ailment, they supposedly cure! Double ad nauseum.
11
What has he or the Republican party done of substance since the election for the Trump Nation?
7
mvrox: The tax bill was of substance. Foul smelling, but of substance.
1
What a joke. More bait and switch from the con man in chief. Then he will come up with the cockamamie excuse that it is the fault of "other" countries. The "king" will tell them not to have "socialized" medicine. So, Canadians, Germans and French people should all stop being decent and smart and act like Trump. Guess what? Those people are just smarter that the average schmoe that voted for Donald Trump. Wake me when this is over.
35
This follows pattern of every so-called ‘populist’ promise Trump made and instead, is yielding to corporate/donor interests. Where is that “cheaper, universal” health care he promised? What has he done, really, about the opioid crisis? His sabotage of Obamacare has made health insurance more costly, less accessible. Pattern follows to consumer protections, student loan relief (now topping $1.5 trillion debt). He is pulling out billions from CHIP, from Medicare, making it easy for states to withhold, limit, restrict Medicaid. Next up: privatizing Veterans Administration health care. Whatever happened to the bipartisan proposals for health care, for immigration reform? He has absolutely no interest in making lives for ordinary people better - not financially, not public health. It is as if he wants people to be insecure about their homes, their family, so they can't possibly compete monetarily or in time with Big Money that is dominating political power. And this includes doing anything sensible to bring down unconscionable, extortionist drug prices.
78
Sure sure...nothing will happen until Dems gain the House in November. Trump, the great negotiator, won't allow Medicare to negotiate. That is not free market. As far as drug imports, the vast majority of drugs ARE imported back in, as big pharma manufacturers them overseas anyway.
11
Trump will do anything to maintain the high profit ratios which the pharmaceutical companies are able to maintain due to lack of consumer protections. Costs continue to rise as does corporate gains!
18
Big Pharma will not allow any tweaking of their profits. Whatever comes out of this meeting it will be geared towards Big Pharma's advantage. Having a vulnerable population foot the bill on new prescription drugs that generally are experimented on this population is immoral. Spiking prices on terminally ill patients is another immoral act. Yet here we are with the Pretend King Trump's hand in the cookie jar and what comes out will not be a cookie for our seniors but one for Big Pharma.
18