.png)
Concord, N.H. - This week, Donald Trump broke his promise to negotiate lower prescription drug prices through Medicare - a move that could save 300,000 Granite Staters money and save the program billions of dollars. In 2016, Donald Trump promised the people of New Hampshire that he was going to take this important step to reduce drug prices. At a rally in Farmington, Trump told the crowd that Medicare, a huge buyer of prescription drugs, could “save $300 billion” a year if it negotiated discounts. But this week, Trump broke his New Hampshire campaign promise by trying to bury a bill that would allow Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices. Inside Health Policy reported, “The White House sees little chance for enactment of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) government drug price negotiation bill…The development likely spells the bill’s demise.” “This week Donald Trump broke another campaign promise he made directly to Granite Staters. Negotiating with drug companies would have helped Granite Staters afford the medications they need, but Trump’s special interests won out, and he broke his promise. The only thing Trump cares about is filling the pockets of insurance lobbyists and pharmaceutical corporations,” said New Hampshire Democratic Party Chair Ray Buckley. “Despite Donald Trump’s broken promise to New Hampshire, Senators Shaheen and Hassan, and Representatives Pappas and Kuster will continue to lead the charge to make prescription drugs more affordable.”
###
Senators Shaheen and Hassan Introduced Legislation to Lower Prescription Drug Prices. “Senator Maggie Hassan, a member of the Senate Finance Committee that has jurisdiction over Medicare, and a member of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, and Senator Jeanne Shaheen joined colleagues this week in introducing legislation to lower skyrocketing prescription drug prices for Granite Staters and Americans. The Senators joined in reintroducing legislation to allow Medicare to negotiate the best possible price for prescription drugs to cut costs for the nearly 43 million seniors enrolled in Medicare Part D. The Senators also joined in reintroducing separate legislation to allow patients, pharmacists, and wholesalers to import safe, affordable medicine from Canada and other major countries.” [Press Release, 1/11/19]. Congresswoman Kuster Co-Sponsored Legislation To Allow Medicare to Negotiate The Price of Prescription Drugs, Making Them More Affordable. “The Lower Drug Costs Now Act will… End the ban on Medicare negotiating directly with the drug companies, and create powerful new tools to force drug companies to the table to agree to real price reductions, while ensuring seniors never lose access to the prescriptions they need.” [Press Release, 9/19/19]. Congressman Pappas Co-Sponsored Legislation To Allow Medicare to Negotiate The Price of Prescription Drugs. “A key provision of the bill is a reversal of the current prohibition on allowing the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to negotiate prescription drug prices.” [WMUR, 10/22/19]. In New Hampshire, During His Campaign, Donald Trump Called For Medicare To Be Able To Negotiate With Pharmaceutical Companies. “Donald Trump said tonight he could save Medicare billions of dollars by allowing it to negotiate drug prices directly with pharmaceutical companies -- embracing a position Democrats have championed and Republicans have opposed for years. The Associated Press quotes Trump as telling a crowd in Farmington, N.H., that Medicare, a huge buyer of prescription drugs, could ‘save $300 billion’ a year if it negotiated discounts. Story Continued Below ‘We don’t do it,’ he said. ‘Why? Because of the drug companies.’” [Politico, 1/25/16]. But Donald Trump Doesn’t Support H.R. 3 - a Bill that Would Fulfill His Campaign Promise and Contains Drug Negotiation Policy He Previously Backed. “The White House sees little chance for enactment of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s (D-CA) government drug price negotiation bill and is pushing for passage of the Senate Finance Committee's bill, Domestic Policy Council chief Joe Grogan told Politico on Wednesday (Oct. 30). The White House had previously withheld its position on Pelosi’s bill, and conversations between Pelosi’s staff and Grogan reportedly continued beyond the introduction of H.R. 3, which includes a conglomeration of policies President Donald Trump had previously backed. The development likely spells the bill’s demise,” [Inside Health Policy, 10/30/19].