TOPLINE
President Donald Trump is expected to sign a series of executive orders Friday to cut drug prices, a major concern for many voters that Trump promised to address in his first term, and that could help his approval ratings lag behind now. .
WASHINGTON, DC – July 22: United States President Donald Trump speaks to journalists during a press conference … [+]
KEY FACTS
Earlier this month, White House chief of staff Mark Meadows said the president planned to enact “executive orders that will really make a big difference,” specifically those designed to reduce the prices of prescription drugs.
Republican lawmakers have been invited to a presidential drug price event at 3 p.m. Friday at the White House, according to an invitation obtained by The hill.
Trump is expected to issue several orders on Friday afternoon, including a lawsuit to reduce Medicare drug payments by trying to ensure that the US does not pay more than any other county (the so-called “favored nations rule” ) and address policies related to The Drug Discount Program known as 340B, which gives hospitals access to heavily discounted drugs.
However, the executive orders will not eliminate the controversial rebates that drug manufacturers pay negotiators, known as pharmacy benefit managers.
According to The Hill, “The measures come as the election draws closer and Democrats have been hitting Republicans on the issue of health care, in particular a Trump-backed demand to repeal the Affordable Care Act.”
A Quinnipiac University poll released Thursday has former Vice President Joe Biden leading Trump by 13 points in Florida (51% to 38%), up from a 4-point lead in a Quinnipiac poll in April.
Key Background:
The rising cost of prescriptions remains a pressing problem in the US and one that generates votes. A Kaiser Family Foundation poll last September found that 70% of respondents believed that reducing prescription drug costs should be a “top priority” for Congress. While Trump is expected to sign orders this week, it’s important to note that they won’t be enforceable immediately. The regulatory process could take months, which means they cannot be implemented before the elections in early November. In the latest NBC news /Wall street journal National poll, Biden takes Trump 51% to 40%.
Critical quote:
“One of my highest priorities is to reduce the price of prescription drugs. In many other countries, these drugs cost much less than what we pay in the United States,” Trump said in his first State of the Union address in 2017. “That is why I have ordered my Administration to make redressing the injustice of high drug prices one of our top priorities. Prices will go down.”
“The president continues to explore each and every option that will drive lower drug costs, while ensuring that we have access to the world’s most innovative vaccines and therapies,” White House spokesman Judd Deere said in a communicated earlier this week.
Tangent:
The coronavirus pandemic has only exacerbated the need for prescription drug reform. Last month, the New York Times They reported that “millions of Americans, including crowds of new unemployed, are stuck with rising out-of-pocket costs for medications in the midst of a historic health crisis. But the political will to address the problem appears to have waned.”
Big number:
1.4 million: That’s the number of unemployment claims filed last week, according to Labor Department data released Thursday.
Further reading:
The executive order on drug price controls would be counterproductive (Forbes)
Increase 13 points in Florida as Trump craters approval amid pandemic (Forbes)
.
