Peter B. Bach, Columnist

Trump’s Drug-Pricing Ideas Would Cost Taxpayers a Bundle

Pharmaceutical companies, on the other hand, would stand to make a lot more money.

Getting nowhere.

Photographer: Drew Angerer/Getty Images
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Early in President Donald Trump’s term he said pharmaceutical companies’ prices were so high, they were “getting away with murder.” He promised Americans he would help them save big on prescription drugs. And drug companies, well, they were going to pay for it.

But drug prices rose anyway. In 2018, for every one drug price that fell, 96 other drug prices went up, the Associated Press reported. Patients’ out-of-pocket drug costs also increased — by more than 50% from 2016 to 2018 for people with cancer, arthritis and other serious conditions, according to the Health Care Cost Institute.