Bloomberg Campaign Press Release - President Trump Has Talked About Lowering Drug Prices but Failed to Take Action; Mike Has a Plan to Lower Drug Prices for All Americans

NEW YORK — Trump has made at least 170 statements about the cost of drugs, including nearly 80 instances where he either promised to lower drug prices or claimed he already had. In the first seven months of 2018, there were nearly 100 price hikes for every price cut, and 3,400 drugs increased their prices at a rate five times higher than inflation during the first six months of 2019.

By contrast, as Mayor of New York, Mike championed visionary ideas – like allowing New Yorkers to import prescription drugs from Canada and programs like discount prescription drug cards for all New York City residents. And as President, he will lower prescription drug costs for all Americans.

Mike's Plan

Make Medicare Cheaper for Seniors and Use It to Lower Drug Prices for Everyone

• Cap out-of-pocket drug spending for Medicare beneficiaries at $2,000 annually.
• Authorize Medicare to negotiate the drug prices from the pharmaceutical industry. Allow commercial insurers to also use the negotiated price to lower drug prices for everyone, including those not on Medicare, and save taxpayers approximately $456 billion over ten years.
• Require Medicare Part D health plans to promote the most cost-effective drugs, including generics, reducing premiums for Medicare recipients and overall U.S. health care spending.

Fix America's Health Care Competition Problem and Allow Imports of Safe Drugs from Abroad

• Americans should be allowed to buy medicine from other countries, provided those countries have drug-quality control up to American standards.
• Fulfill a promise Donald Trump has made and broken by eliminating drug company payoffs to Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs), payoffs that manipulate drug pricing and game the system.

Lower Drug Prices and Boost Research by Changing Patent and Intellectual Property Law

• Bring generic drugs to the market faster by limiting brand-name drug patents to 20 years. Today, brand-name drugs account for 72% of U.S. drug spending despite representing only 10% of all prescriptions. Their prices also rise year after year far faster than inflation. Brand-name drugs are a major contributor to high drug prices for consumers and high overall U.S. spending.
• Require drug companies to pay royalties to National Institutes of Health if they use NIH IP and turn it into a commercial drug product. These revenues can be used to lower drug costs for people on Medicare and to fund additional research.

For more information on Mike's plans, visit here.