He’s no longer calling to have the federal government negotiate with drugmakers over prices and, more generally, he no longer identifies the drug industry as the primary culprit behind high prices. “We expect President Trump’s upcoming speech on lowering drug prices to be rhetorically critical of pharmaceutical manufacturers and the supply chain,” one analyst told MarketWatch . Whether and how much the approach will ultimately reduce drug prices is unclear, and will probably remain so for some time. Presumably this would entail making drug prices, already a subject of trade negotiations, an even bigger priority, though it’s not clear how much leverage the U.S. has. Also, most economists doubt the prices that drug companies can get abroad have much, if anything, to do with the prices they charge here.

Source: Huffington Post May 11, 2018 16:29 UTC