May 22, 2018
Last week, pharmaceutical manufacturer Amgen announced that a new drug treating migraines will cost less than analysts expected – over 30 percent less.
It’s the latest example of President Trump’s focus on drug pricing having a real effect on the healthcare industry and bringing down prices for patients.
President Trump’s American Patients First plan is a bold and comprehensive effort to peel back onerous and redundant regulation that is strangling our healthcare industry and skewing the market, increasing prices across the board.
The plan looks at all players in the system, not only manufacturers like Amgen, to bring transparency and accountability throughout the prescription drug pipeline. By targeting players like pharmacy benefit managers and insurers, President Trump’s plan shines a light on the opaque payment system that has benefited middlemen at patients’ expense.
President Trump knows that only market forces that reward value and create true competition through transparency will bring down drug prices. Blanket government mandates and regulations – like the Affordable Care Act – have only created an environment in which middlemen and other actors can hide and benefit from government payments and the slanted market.
More announcements like Amgen’s are forthcoming as all parties can take advantage of this new environment and push for real, competitive prices and procedures. This focus from the White House on real solutions promises a real change in our healthcare system – one that actually helps patients afford their treatments instead of laying on new government mandates to hide the problem.
