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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsTrump Tanks Pharma Stocks With Sudden Threat to Fight High Drug Prices
Going into todays extraordinary press conference by Donald Trump, an urgent issue journalists expected to get a clarification about were the president-elects thoughts on how congressional Republicans could deal with Obamacare. They did get some more words from Donald Trump on that subject, although they raised as many questions as they answered; thats a subject for a different post.
What nobody expected was this effort in health-care policymaking on the fly, emanating not from any question but from a Trump tangent on his badgering of companies that outsource jobs:
Pharma has a lot of lobbies, a lot of lobbyists and a lot of power. And theres very little bidding on drugs. Were the largest buyer of drugs in the world, and yet we dont bid properly. And were going to start bidding and were going to save billions of dollars over a period of time.
more
http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2017/01/trump-tanks-pharma-stocks-with-drug-price-threat.html
louis-t
(23,295 posts)I doubt he will do anything about drug prices. He'll have the whole repug party turn on him.
DonCoquixote
(13,616 posts)but if in the process he and the pharmas fight, I say, yahoo! Let them rip each other to shreds!
With one tweet, he can send a stock tumbling.
That could certainly be helpful info to know 30 minutes pre-tweet...
cbreezen
(694 posts)providing prescription coverage, it was a big gimme to big pharma. Medicare was prohibited from negotiating for lower medication prices. I don't like his ability to tank any stock at whim, but I don't care one whit if pharma stocks take a hit.
Initech
(100,079 posts)And he needs to be told to go sit in the corner until he can behave like an adult. Otherwise, his tantrums will destroy humanity.
Johonny
(20,851 posts)tanyev
(42,559 posts)Donkees
(31,411 posts)https://www.c-span.org/video/?421614-1/us-senate-debates-health-care-law-repeal&live
Transcript excerpt:
PRESIDENT-ELECT TRUMP HAD A PRESS CONFERENCE THIS MORNING, AND IN HIS PRESS CONFERENCE HE SAID -- AND I QUOTE -- "PHRMA IS GETTING AWAY WITH MURDER." END OF QUOTE. MR. TRUMP, "PHRMA IS GETTING AWAY WITH MURDER." AND YOU KNOW WHAT? MR. TRUMP IS EXACTLY RIGHT. PHRMA IS GETTING AWAY WITH MURDER, PHRMA HAS GOTTEN AWAY WITH MURDER FOR MANY, MANY DECADES. AND THE INTERESTING ISSUE IS, WITH A REPUBLICAN PRESIDENT-ELECT TELLING THE TRUTH THAT PHRMA IS GETTING AWAY WITH MURDER, WILL THE REPUBLICANS, WILL ALL THE DEMOCRATS HAVE THE GUTS FINALLY TO STAND UP TO THE PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY AND THEIR LOBBYISTS AND THEIR CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS AND FIGHT FOR THE AMERICAN CONSUMER AND END THE DISGRACE OF HAVING OUR COUNTRY PAY BY FAR THE HIGH OF THE PRICES IN THE WORLD FOR PRESCRIPTION DRUGS? WELL, GOOD NEWS IS, I SAY TO MY FELLOW REPUBLICANS AND TO DEMOCRATS, GOOD NEWS IS THAT TONIGHT YOU'RE GOING TO HAVE THAT OPPORTUNITY BECAUSE, AS PART OF THE SO-CALLED VOTE-A-RAMA, I WILL BE INTRODUCING A VERY SIMPLE AMENDMENT WHICH I HOPE WINS STRONG BIPARTISAN SUPPORT. IN FACT, THERE HAVE BEEN A NUMBER OF REPUBLICANS OVER THE YEARS IN THE HOUSE AND IN THE SENATE WHO ARE -- WHO HAVE SUPPORTED THE CONCEPT OF REIMPORTATION FOR MANY, MANY YEARS. WHAT THIS AMENDMENT WILL DO IS ALLOW PHARMACEUTICAL DISTRIBUTORS AND PHARMACISTS AND THOSE INVOLVED IN THE PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY -- THOSE PEOPLE WHO SELL DRUGS -- TO IMPORT LOW-COST MEDICINE FROM CANADA AND OTHER COUNTRIES WHICH WILL BE F.D.A.-APPROVED. IN OTHER WORDS, ALL OVER THIS COUNTRY, PEOPLE ASK A VERY SIMPLE QUESTION:
WE CAN EAT FISH AND VEGETABLES THAT ARE GROWN ALL OVER THE WORLD, BUT SOMEHOW WE CANNOT GET INTO THIS COUNTRY BRAND-NAME PRESCRIPTION DRUGS MANUFACTURED BY SOME OF THE LARGEST DRUG COMPANIES IN THE WORLD FROM AN ADVANCED COUNTRY LIKE CANADA. AND THE REASON WE CAN'T DO THAT IS FOR ONE REASON AND ONE REASON ALONE: THAT IS THE POWER OF THE PHARMACEUTICAL INDUSTRY.