A report released this week by the White House Council of Economic Advisors (CEA) showed that prescription drug prices fell by more than 11 percent under President Donald Trump.
CEA: Drug Prices Rose Under Obama – Under Trump, They Went Down
The CEA noted that under President Barack Obama, drug prices kept going up and only started to come down after Trump took over the White House.
The CEA reported that drug prices fell more than 11 percent. “In 2018, prescription drug prices even declined in nominal terms over the calendar year for the first time since 1972,” the White House council wrote.
A White House Council of Economic Advisors (CEA) report released this week found that drug prices fell by more than 11 percent under President Donald Trump.https://t.co/GqaqM5d2yO
— Mark Grant (@mgrant76308) February 23, 2020
Much of this decrease was attributed to the president’s signing of the 2017 Drug Competition Action Plan and the 2018 Strategic Policy Roadmap. The CEA said the President’s reforms enhance “choice and price competition in the biopharmaceutical markets.”
“We estimate that the results of these actions will save consumers almost 10 percent on retail prescription drugs, which results in an increase of $32 billion per year in the purchasing power of the incomes of Americans (including both consumers and producers),” the council added.
Trump vowed to do more to lower prescription drugs during his State of the Union address in February, calling on Congress to pass Sen. Chuck Grassley’s Prescription Drug Pricing Reduction Act.
Trump Promised to Lower Prices During His State of the Union
“My administration is also taking on the big pharmaceutical companies,” Trump said. “We have approved a record number of affordable generic drugs, and medicines are being approved by the F.D.A. at a faster clip than ever before. And I was pleased to announce last year that, for the first time in 51 years, the cost of prescription drugs actually went down.”
Prescription drug prices dropped for the first time in years!!!!
— Live Free Patriot ?? (@livefreepatriot) February 11, 2020
“And working together, Congress can reduce drug prices substantially from current levels,” Trump continued. “I’ve been speaking to Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa and others in Congress in order to get something on drug pricing done, and done quickly and properly.”
“I’m calling for bipartisan legislation that achieves the goal of dramatically lowering prescription drug prices. Get a bill on my desk, and I will sign it into law immediately,” Trump said.