Says one lobbyist, “The administration is imposing foreign pricecontrols from countries with socialized health care systems thatdeny their citizens access and discourage innovation.”
The lobbying groups for U.S. drugmakers aren'thappy about President Donald Trump's plan to borrow fromEurope's system of paying for some high-cost drugs.
|On Thursday, Trump proposed cutting what Medicare pays for many costly drugs that areadministered in hospitals and clinics, using a new index of pricesthat would bring U.S. government payments closer to what Europeancountries pay.
|Related: Everything you need to know about two new drug costinformation bills
|“The administration is imposing foreign price controls fromcountries with socialized health care systems that deny theircitizens access and discourage innovation,” said Steve Ubl, chiefexecutive officer of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturersof America, which represents drugmakers. The BiotechnologyInnovation Organization, or BIO, said the administration would be“adopting foreign price controls.”
|The drug industry is one of Washington's most powerful lobbying forces, spending tens of millions ofdollars a year on lobbying and political contributions. Alex Azar,Trump's Secretary of Health and Human Services, attended an eventhosted by BIO after the presentation, saying that the plan wouldnot hurt research and development by the industry.
|“You're going to find no more pro innovation secretary than me,”said Azar. “Yet today our actions have been accused of being soanti innovation as to be un-American by this very group.”
|Trump and members of his administration have levied charges ofsocialized medicine at Democrats, saying a push for a“Medicare-for-all” health system would socialize Americanmedicine.
|At an event in Washington where Trump presented the proposedpricing changes, he also attacked Democrats, saying that “sadly amajority of Democrats in the House of Representatives havesponsored a very socialist program that would terminateMedicare.”
|Read more:
- Pharma balks at proposal to list drug prices in TVads
- Reference-based pricing: a panacea for high drugprices?
- Drug price transparency takes a stepforward
Copyright 2018 Bloomberg. All rightsreserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten,or redistributed.
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