Trump to give speech on lowering drug prices this month

President Trump is scheduled to give a speech on prescription drug prices on April 26, the White House said Monday, as he calls for making the drugs more affordable.

However, the White House indicated that no new policy proposals will be unveiled at the speech, other than a request for information on “various drug pricing ideas,” according to deputy White House press secretary Hogan Gidley.

Trump and Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar said in a speech last month that the administration would soon be rolling out new drug pricing proposals.

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“You’ll be seeing drug prices falling very substantially in the not-so-distant future, and it’s going to be beautiful,” Trump said at the time.

Gidley said Monday that Trump would also talk about proposals he has already made as part of his budget. Gidley said the date of the speech is subject to change.

The April 26 date was first reported by Axios. 

Trump’s budget proposal included ideas like capping out-of-pocket drug costs for Medicare beneficiaries and allowing up to five states to band together to negotiate drug prices in Medicaid.

Drug price reduction advocates have criticized Trump for not matching his sharp rhetoric against drug prices with proposals that actually take on the pharmaceutical industry over its prices.

Trump has accused drug companies of “getting away with murder” with high prices but has so far not proposed sweeping actions against drug prices that would draw strong opposition from drug companies.

Lobbyists say a possible proposal that could be included is shifting drugs from Medicare Part B into Part D, where there is more negotiation over the price. Another possible proposal is reducing barriers to setting prices for drugs based on how effective they are, an idea known as “value-based purchasing.”