Big Pharma’s big question: Is Trump friend or foe?
Trump wants Medicare to directly negotiate the prices it pays for prescription drugs, endorses price transparency, and supports drugs being imported from other countries – all policies opposed by drug makers. Not to mention he’s vowed to take on the pharma lobby…
Others expect Trump to govern like a traditional Republican. He promises to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. Congress has been working on legislation to speed up drug and devices approvals at the FDA, a bill Democrats support as well.
Trump will likely focus on injecting more free market principles into the health system, but still has to address anxiety about drug costs. Republicans have wanted to slow Medicare and Medicaid spending and turn Medicaid into a block-grant program, but that won’t solve the Medicare’s fiscal situation. Curbing drug costs could be one way to reduce government spending.
But this is all speculative, it’s hard to tell what to expect from Trump just yet.
