Trump's Remarks at Signing of Executive Orders on Lowering Drug Prices; July 24, 2020

[mahatmakanejeeves]

REMARKS

Remarks by President Trump at Signing of Executive Orders on Lowering Drug Prices
HEALTHCARE

Issued on: July 24, 2020

South Court Auditorium

3:45 P.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much. Well, thank you very much, everybody. Please. (Applause.)

This promises to be a very big and very important meeting, so bear with me. Take a little while. But it has to do with a thing called “drug pricing.” And as you know, Congress has been working on this for decades and decades. And we are now doing something that is going to be incredible for the American public.

{snip}

The American people pay an average of over three times more for medicine than the Canadians. Many people go to Canada. I see it all the time. They go to Canada to buy drugs, and then they come back — prescription drugs — because they save so much money. The trip is well worth it. The Obama-Biden administration pledged to end this unfairness and allowed drug importation, but they never got it done. They were unable to get it done. They didn’t get a lot of things done.

{snip}

Foreign nations have paid vastly less for the exact same drug — again, in the exact same box, from the exact same plant, from the exact same company. They would pay 10 percent, 20 percent, 30 percent what our people are paying. A pill that would sell for — for $1 in certain countries. I won’t name them. They’re all allies, right? They call them “allies.” I call them “so-called allies.” But a pill that would cost $1 could be $7, $8 in our country. Same exact pill. We pay 80 percent more than nations like Germany, Canada, and others for some of the most expensive medicines, identical in all respects.

This means that Americans are funding the enormous cost of drug research and development for the entire planet. We’re — we are bearing the entire cost of all of this; they’re bearing none. They say, “This is what we’re going to pay.” In some cases, it’s a socialist country. So we’re paying to reduce drug prices in a socialist country. How does that work? How does that work? And these are things that should have been done a long time ago. And even from our standpoint, we would have done it more quickly, but we have to go through vast amounts of waiting periods, waiting times.

And this is an incredible day. This is just a big day. This is a big day. I’ve been waiting for this day for a long time.

We incredibly and foolishly bear the full cost of all research and development, which is massive, in all fairness to the drug companies. It can take 15 years to get something approved. Billions and billions of dollars for a simple drug. It also means that the U.S. taxpayers are effectively subsidizing the socialist healthcare systems of foreign welfare states and many other countries. We will end that abuse and restore the principles of free enterprise, but this doesn’t even have to do with free enterprise. This has to do with common sense and courage, to be honest — and courage.

Under this transformative order, Medicare will be required to purchase drugs at the same price as other countries pay. So we would pay four or five times more for a drug. We now pay — if somebody else pays $1 and we pay $5, we’re paying $1. Now what’s going to happen is their number will go up, our number will come very substantially down, and we’ll all agree at two and a half or two or whatever the final number is.

{snip}

Under our ridiculous system, which has been broken for decades, we aren’t even allowed to negotiate the price of drugs. Can you believe it? I said, “What are we going to negotiate?” We’re not allowed — we’re restricted by Congress from negotiating the price of drugs. Can you imagine? You say, “I want to get a better price.” “I’m sorry, sir. You’re not allowed to do that. That’s illegal.” What kind of a system is that? Do you think the world looks at us and said, “Where the hell did these people come from?” But they treat us very nicely, but it’s not — it’s going to end, okay?

I see you’re a — you’re a fan of what we’re saying. You must be a doctor. Are you a doctor? Yeah? Doctors know. The doctors know. You’ve known that for years. We’re not allowed to negotiate. Can you believe it? We just have to take whatever it is.

{snip}

The drug company executives will be at the White House on Tuesday, and they have some ideas how to significantly reduce drug prices.

{snip}

Paul Madden is a senior citizen who relies on insulin every day. He was paying a fortune — everything — to get it. Paul, if you could — I think Paul is in the audience. And if you could please come up and say a few words about your experience? Thank you, Paul. (Applause.)

MR. MADDEN: Thank you very much. So you can hear me.

THE PRESIDENT: That’s better.

MR. MADDEN: Mr. President, thank you so very much for this time to share a few key points supporting your leadership work reducing the price of insulin and other diabetes-related medicines used by 34 [million] Americans each day to live healthier, fuller lives.

{snip}

Your work, sir, to ensure that insulin is affordable under Medicare will help guarantee that I and millions of seniors who take insulin realize healthier, more productive, independent, happier lives. Thank you for continuing your commitment to ensure affordability and access for all who use insulin, for people with diabetes, and so that our children and grandchildren will directly benefit from our improved health.

Thank you. (Applause.)

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much. Thank you, Paul. That’s great.

That’s actually brought it from many, many, many dollars — unaffordable by most people — to pennies — literally, pennies a month.

And I want to thank, Seema. You worked so hard on that one. Seema, could you just say something about that. It was — the price. Would you come up, just for a second, Seema Verma, and just tell them about what we’ve done with respect to very badly needed insulin? (Applause.)

ADMINISTRATOR VERMA: Well, the Senior Savings Model that we developed under the President’s leadership is going to reduce the cost of insulin to $35 a month for our seniors. And that represents a 66 percent savings. (Applause.)

I can tell you, the Vice President and I were traveling in Pennsylvania. We had a gentleman that came up to us, and he showed us his insulin, and he said, “You’re going to save me $5,000 a year.”

So thank you, President Trump for your leadership. (Applause.)

{snip}

MS. ECKLES: My name is Andrea Eckles, and I am a dental hygienist in Brunswick, Maryland. I was widowed when my husband died in a tragic auto accident, and my twin girls were four at the time. He held our family health insurance through his corporate job, and I suddenly found myself having to work fulltime, and put my children in fulltime daycare, and watch my budget very closely. This was a number of years ago.

And at that time, my only choice for healthcare — I work in a very small dental office, and so my only choice for healthcare at that time was what I call the “Unaffordable Care Act.” And I was paying very high premiums and copays, and way too much for prescription drugs. And interestingly, I — you referenced the EpiPen, and I had to purchase EpiPens and inhalers. And it got to the point, actually, where I couldn’t even afford to renew the EpiPen. I think I still have a, probably, 15-year-old EpiPen at my house, because it just — they’ve got to be $700. But, in my case, this led —

THE PRESIDENT: What do they start at? So, it’s $700. What did they start at?

MS. ECKLES: The original EpiPen — I feel like it was like a $20 copay, way back when we first got it. But then as the — each year, you know, it just kept going up, up to the — but I incidentally ended up — with all of these increases and copays and everything thing over time, I ended up with an over-15,000-dollar medical debt. And I’m just a regular person; I don’t have ridiculously, you know, major illnesses or anything.

But during your presidency, President Trump, my premiums have decreased exponentially, and my coverage has increased. My copays have just about disappeared — you know, or gone way down. And prescription drugs that I used to budget for myself are — at $150 a month — is now $15 a month. And because of you, I’m spending hundreds of dollars less a month. And this type of savings makes it a really big difference for a single mother, such as myself.

So I just want to thank you so much from the bottom of my heart —

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. Thank you.

MS. ECKLES: — for all that you do, and for all of your policies that are helping all of us Americans.

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much. That’s very nice.

MS. ECKLES: Thank you. (Applause.)

THE PRESIDENT: That’s really nice. I appreciate it. Some big difference. That’s not a 1 percent or 2 percent; that’s big. That’s big dollars. And I want to thank you both very much. Thank you very much.

{snip}

So thank you very much. I want to thank you all for being here. I’d like to ask, if I could, Alex to come up, please — Secretary Azar — to say a few words, and then I’ll sign an executive order.

{snip}

SECRETARY AZAR: Well, Mr. — Mr. President, thank you so much for your leadership here. You charged all of us with four goals: ending foreign freeriding, improving how our federal programs pay for drugs, lowering out-of-pockets for our citizens, and getting list prices down.

{snip}

As we’re going to end foreign freeriding, taking on foreign socialist systems that have been living off of the American seniors’ investments by overpaying in drug prices. And now they’re going to have to bear their fair share. I got to tell you, you have been — what you’ve done and what you’re doing, today, you’ve done more than any President in American history to take on drug prices. You have ta- — (applause) —

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you.

SECRETARY AZAR: You’re taking on the drug companies, you’re taking on the middlemen, you’re taking on the European socialists — all for the forgotten men and women of America who show up at a pharmacy counter. And for that, I am so proud of what you’re doing today. Thank you, Mr. President.

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much. Great, Alex. Thank you. (Applause.) Thank you, Alex.

Please, Ron. Please.

GOVERNOR DESANTIS: Well, Mr. President, thanks for your leadership on this.

{snip}

And so when Florida then moved forward, we knew we had your support. We knew that this day would eventually come. And I think the — the fact that where we’re standing here today — obviously, Florida, you know, we did some groundwork, but really, it’s a result of presidential leadership.

So the people of Florida, I want to thank you for siding with us on this. This — like I said, this could’ve been done for almost 20 years. It hasn’t been done. So you’re the one that got it done.

So, Mr. President, thank you.

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you very much, Ron. Thank you. (Applause.) Thank you.

So we’re going to sign four very important documents. I just want to thank Amy. And congratulations, Amy, to you. That elevation is a big one. And you’re going to do fantastically. Russell, congratulations. He just got confirmed, and we appreciate it. Fantastic job. And, Pat, thank you very much for being here. We appreciate it. Thank you very much.

Okay, let’s go.

(The executive orders are signed.) (Applause.)

Thank you all very much.

END

4:28 P.M. EDT

[CurtEastPoint]

1. Jesus what a bunch of sloppy ass kissing. From what I read, identical to Pelosi's bill from some

time back, no? I AM NOT AGAINST THIS. I am against Dump in every form, shape, time, place, etc. Fuck him.

[VMA131Marine]

2. PR stunt! It doesn't sound like these orders will do much.

https://www.npr.org/2020/07/24/895290378/trump-signs-executive-orders-on-drug-prices


“The Trump Administration has announced four executive orders to lower drug prices, but health policy experts say they will likely offer patients only minimal relief and may take months to implement, if they're implemented at all.

The orders signed Friday afternoon included allowing certain drugs to be imported from Canada and making changes to the way discounts negotiated by middlemen called pharmacy benefit managers are passed on to Medicare patients.

The most radical order involves requiring Medicare to pay the same price for some drugs — the ones patients receive in the hospital as part of Medicare Part B — that other countries pay. However, Trump said he is giving the pharmaceutical industry until Aug. 24 to make a deal with him before he implements it.”

[Chainfire]

3. A thinly veiled attempt to buy senior votes.

One of those promises that go away as soon as he is reelected. Remember "Repeal and Replace" which in fact became "Cut and Run."