The growing concern among Americans according to independent polls is the high price of drugs for consumers, especially when compared to other developed nations. The concern has been one of Trump’s top agenda. During his State of the Union address, Trump informed Americans that his administration will work hard to fix the injustices of high drug prices.
Recent developments indicate that the White House Council of Economic Advisers has released a strategy proposal to aid in the reduction of drug prices. The plan has been outlined just before Trump puts forward his new budget proposal on Monday. The strategy comprises Medicaid and Medicare changes, proposals on speeding drugs approval and ways through which the Trump administration could foster competition among pharmaceuticals.
Trump, while talking on the subject of high drug costs, implied that his administration would take drastic measures to bring down the price but the 30-page document implies otherwise. Trump’s administration is claimed to be gravitating towards relatively modest strategies to reduce the high drug prices. The strategy may implicate Donald Trump as a pharmaceutical ally.
Recommendations from the White House
One of the solutions to bringing down drug prices involves amending Medicaid rules to allow manufacturers to set artificially high prices on drugs due to rebates on programs for low-income patients. Another solution involves revising the Food and Drugs Administrations review process on drugs to foster competition. These are some of the recommendations passed by the White House that have not elicited much excitement.
Skeptics imply that the overall approach as indicated in the proposal is underwhelming while Trump risks being seen as an ally of the pharmaceutical industry which is considered powerful. The CEO of the National Coalition on Healthcare, John Rother, stated that despite Trump’s promise to lower drug prices drastically, the proposed recommendations do not show how clearly the prices will be reduced. The National Coalition on Healthcare is an advocacy group comprised of medical societies, hospitals, insurers and consumer organizations. John’s opinion may represent the organization thus presenting the uphill task the President has in convincing Americans.
Richard Evans, who is a former drug company executive and currently a financial analyst, agreed that the proposals will bring down the price of drugs but it would not be by the degree most Americans expect. He added that it will be quite difficult to convince the average voter bearing the burden of high drug prices that the proposals are the best solution.
