Trump to Drop Call for Medicare to Negotiate Lower Drug Prices.

[elleng]

*F'ers have failed forever, paying off pharma STILL STILL STILL, contrary to approach of Fed Govt which negotiates prices for drugs and services for Fed employees and retirees, who benefit from FEHBP. https://www.opm.gov/retirement-services/publications-forms/pamphlets/ri75-13.pdf



'President Trump will lay out on Friday a broad strategy to reduce prescription drug prices, but in a break from one of his most popular campaign promises, he will not call for Medicare to negotiate lower prices with drug manufacturers, senior administration officials said.

The White House will issue a blueprint that represents “the most comprehensive plan to tackle prescription drug affordability of any president,” a senior official told journalists on Thursday night.

Asked if the plan would include direct negotiations by Medicare, the official said, “No, we are talking about something different.”

“We are not calling for Medicare negotiation in the way that Democrats have called for,” the official said later. “We clearly want to make important changes that will dramatically improve the way negotiation takes place inside the Medicare program.”'>>>

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/10/us/politics/trump-prescription-drug-costs.html?

[democratisphere]

1. Maybe he has BIG PHARMA lined up to donate to the occasional girl friend

and golden showers slush fund.

[Voltaire2]

2. He thinks he is going to get Europe and Canada

to relax their price regulations. Somehow that is going to get pharma to lower prices here.

1. None of those governments are going to commit political suicide to accommodate Twitler.

2. If they did none of the increase in profits would be used to lower domestic prices.

[sinkingfeeling]

3. Of course.

[Hoyt]

4. Until we are willing to forgo costly drugs because the price is too high, negotiating won't do a

lot of good.

The first time the feds said, "we aren't going to cover that life saving or life improving drug," the outcry would be deafening. There are other ways to help control costs, and there is no question drug companies lobbying and contributions impacts this.

But unless we nationalized drugs or remove patent protections, which would probably be a mistake, we gotta be prepared to say "No, that's just too much for what your drug does." Might as well go into a car dealer and say, "I can't/won't say no to your price, but please giver me a good deal."

The sad thing is, even if you cut drug prices in half, health care would only be about 5% cheaper since drugs are about 10% of healthcare expenditures. And that assumes that drugs that keep people out of hospitals, rehab, etc., continue to be available and produced.

Will be interested in hearing what the trumpster has to propose. Doubt it will help until we totally change the system that right now feeds almost 20% of our economy.

Whatever, we need to elect Democrats with the guts to tell the truth about healthcare. Problem is, if they talk about the pain of changing the whole system, they are not likely to make it through a primary.