The President resurfaced a kitchen sink of controversial proposals aimed at reducing Americans' drug costs, which have advanced little during his term. He signed four executive orders, including ones on importing medications from Canada and basing the cost of drugs in the US on their prices in other countries -- both of which progressive Democrats, including Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, have pushed.
The efforts, which largely reaffirm the policies of the administration, are unlikely to have an effect before the November election, if they ever do. Most require rule making by the Department of Health and Human Services and could be challenged in court.
Notably, however, Trump strongly advocated allowing Medicare to negotiate prices -- a measure he slammed House Democrats for including in their drug price bill last December. The Medicare Modernization Act of 2003, which established Medicare's Part D drug plan, banned such negotiation to secure the votes of Republican lawmakers.
"Under our ridiculous system, which has been broken for decades, we aren't even allowed to negotiate the price of drugs," Trump said Friday just prior to signing the orders. "Can you imagine? What kind of a system is that? It's going to end."
But he also said that drug company executives, whom he has been courting to swiftly develop vaccines and treatment for Covid-19 and inking hefty deals to do so, were coming to the White House on Tuesday to present their ideas for reducing costs. Trump said he'll consider not implementing the order on international pricing if talks with drug manufacturers are successful.
The pharmaceutical industry swiftly condemned the measures, pointing to Trump's State of the Union address earlier this year in which he said he would never let socialism destroy American health care.
"Yet, in the middle of global pandemic, when nearly 145,000 Americans have lost their lives and millions of others have suffered untold economic hardships, this administration has decided to pursue a radical and dangerous policy to set prices based on the rates paid in countries that he has labeled as socialist, which will harm patients today and into the future," said Stephen Ubl, CEO of PhRMA, a leading industry association.
The executive orders
Price setting: The President first outlined an International Pricing Index proposal to set Medicare reimbursement levels for certain drugs on their cost in other countries in October 2018, seeking to bolster Republicans' standing on health care days before the midterm election. Most other nations pay far less for medications because their governments are involved in determining the prices.
The proposal, which runs counter to Republicans' allegiance to the free market system, immediately ran into major resistance from drug companies. Such blowback has doomed prior administrations' attempts to control Medicare payments.
Drug importation: Another executive order pushes allowing drug importation from Canada, where prices are much lower. The
