DRUGS/PHARMA/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Pfizer is planning to raise prices on 41 drugs in January, a few months after the company agreed to defer hikes under heavy pressure from President Donald Trump. The manufacturer said Friday it would raise the list price of all but four of the drugs by 5%, effective January 15. Three drugs will increase 3%, while one will go up by 9%. The medications represent 10% of Pfizer’s drug portfolio. The drugmaker surprised many in July with its decision to walk back hikes after Trump tweeted that the company should be ‘ashamed’ of itself for raising prices and taking advantage of the poor. The next day, the president tweeted that he had spoken personally to Pfizer’s CEO, who agreed to roll back the increases. Trump has made lowering drug prices a main focus of his first term. In May, his administration rolled out a 44-page ‘blueprint’ for increasing competition, reducing regulations and changing the incentives for all players in the drug industry. Last month, Trump outlined a plan to revamp how Medicare pays for certain high-cost drugs by basing reimbursements on the prices paid in other countries.”
–Tami Luhby, “Pfizer to raise drug prices despite Trump complaints,” CNN Politics, CNN.com, November 16, 2018 7:14 pm