A Month On The Job And HHS Secretary Is Already Lowering Drug Prices, According To Trump
HHS Secretary Alex Azar is "setting the world on fire," President Donald Trump said. Although Azar has signaled that drug prices are a priority, he’s not yet taken dramatic action on the subject. Meanwhile, an Illinois state lawmaker has introduced legislation intended to stop price-gouging on generic drugs.
Stat:
Trump: New HHS Chief Has Already Lowered Drug Prices
Alex Azar has been on the job for less than a month, but President Trump believes his new health and human services secretary is making progress toward a feat that’s long bedeviled politicians and a host of other health care experts: lowering drug prices. “Secretary Alex Azar, who is really setting the world on fire now, huh, with your lowering of prescription drug prices and a lot of other things you’re doing, and we appreciate it very much,” Trump said, introducing him at a meeting on gun violence and school safety on Thursday. “A lot of people are seeing already what’s happening, especially the lowering of the price of health care.” (Mershon, 2/22)
Chicago Sun Times:
Bill Would Penalize Drug Companies For 'Price Gouging' On Generics
The bill would give the Illinois attorney general’s office the power to investigate price increases on generics when they pass a certain threshold: A 30 percent jump in one year, 50 percent over three years or 75 percent over five years. Companies would then have to provide documentation showing they are increasing costs due to increased production costs. Penalties would include: making restitution to overcharged patients; up to a $10,000 fine per violation; and a requirement to sell the medications at the old price (before the hike) for at least one year. (Esposito, 2/22)
In other pharmaceutical news —
CQ:
'Right To Try' Bill In Need Of A Cure
House leaders are under pressure from the FDA to narrow the scope of legislation (S 204) the Senate passed last summer to allow people with serious illnesses to take experimental drugs that have not cleared clinical trials. The issue took on renewed interest when President Donald Trump called for the passage of so-called “right-to-try” legislation in his State of the Union address. (McIntire, 2/26)
