DRUGS/MEDICARE/PHARMA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The Trump administration hit back on Monday [5-14-18] against critics of President Trump’s plan to reduce prescription drug prices, saying his ideas would be far more effective than remedies championed by Democrats. Democrats have long supported two proposals that Mr. Trump endorsed during the 2016 presidential campaign. The government, they say, should directly negotiate with drug manufacturers to obtain lower prices for Medicare beneficiaries. And consumers, they say, should be allowed to import pills from Canada and certain other developed countries where brand-name drugs often cost less. In a speech on Monday, the secretary of health and human services dismissed those solutions, which Mr. Trump backed away from when he announced his plan on Friday, as quack remedies…Mr. Azar said the government could drive down the prices of such treatments by shifting their coverage from one part of Medicare to another. These drugs, including many cancer medications, are typically administered in doctors’ offices or hospital outpatient departments under Part B of Medicare, which pays the average sales price with a 6 percent markup. Mr. Azar said he wanted to move some of the drugs to Part D of Medicare, which contracts with private health insurance companies to manage the benefit and negotiate discounts with drugmakers.”
-Robert Pear, “Trump Administration Defends Plan to Lower Prescription Drug Prices,” The New York Times online, May 14, 2018