Trump's Tirade Gives New Life to International Drug Pricing Plan

Politico Pro reports that President Trump's recent outburst over not getting enough credit for tackling drug costs has left Health Secretary Alex Azar scrambling to get the plan the White House initially floated in 2018 finished ahead of Trump's upcoming State of the Union address. Most concur that Trump has one big option to make good on his promise to slash drug prices: tie the cost of U.S. drugs to the lower prices paid abroad. There had been some internal disagreement among Azar and such other key health officials as White House Domestic Policy Council Director Joe Grogan over whether to release the rule on international benchmarking, as Azar wanted, or keep it for leverage as Capitol Hill lawmakers continue debating drug pricing, as Grogan has championed. Some observers say Trump's insistence on an imminent win helped bring the dueling parties around issuing the rule. Linking the cost of some Medicare drugs to what's paid abroad would almost certainly trigger immediate legal challenges from the drug industry. It also remains uncertain whether any businesses would want to take on the risk of negotiating with drug companies to get their prices closer to international levels, as Trump's plan proposes.