Letters to the Editor: It's always been an uphill battle to secure disability rights. Under Trump, it's ‘scary'
In 1973, the Rehabilitation Act added several sections that advocated for the disabled, and in 1975, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act was implemented. These were important moves that supported the disability rights movement.
In my 43 years in disability education, I have witnessed and celebrated disabled individuals flourishing because of the reasonable accommodations and equal access that the ADA and its precursors mandated. With education and Medicare funding on the chopping block, and our current president openly mocking the disabled, it's become scary. The fight continues.
Judy Marks, Los Angeles
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To the editor: My life and the lives of thousands of other disabled people have been positively affected by all the inalienable rights written in the ADA.
The bill allowed our community to thrive in schools with individualized education programs and student inclusion. We were given equal opportunities in the workplace with accessible modifications. We had greater freedom with more outdoor access thanks to added curb cuts and building entrances and exits that accommodate the disabled.
I live in an apartment building for independent-living residents. Many depend on in-home supportive services for their independence. What will become of these services under this administration?
Weakening the ADA would be a backward step. Why would the most powerful country in the world choose to go backward?
Julie Inman, Irvine
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To the editor: My heart goes out to those who truly need the assistance that has been afforded by the ADA. However, too many small businesses have been the targets of 'gotcha' lawsuits stemming from abuse of this law. Many of those filing these 'gotcha' suits have only one goal in mind: enriching themselves. Loopholes in the ADA must be fixed, or these frivolous and expensive lawsuits will continue to harm California and its small businesses.
Senate Bill 84 aims to address these abuses. It is essential that the reform legislation receives a fair hearing, answering the pleas of many small-business owners across the state.
Barry E. Zanck, Newport Beach
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NBC News
4 hours ago
- NBC News
Trump gives drugmakers 60 days to slash prescription drug prices
President Donald Trump sent letters to more than a dozen major drugmakers Thursday demanding that they lower the cost of prescription drugs in the U.S. within 60 days. In the letters — which Trump published on his social media platform Truth Social — the drugmakers were told to offer the 'full portfolio' of their existing medications to Medicaid patients at the same prices paid abroad, also known as the 'most favored nation' rule. He also told drugmakers to 'guarantee' that patients on Medicare, Medicaid and private insurance get the same lower prices that are paid abroad for all newly approved drugs 'both upon launch and moving forward.' He also demanded that drugmakers return any additional revenues earned abroad to U.S. taxpayers, and create a 'direct to consumer' option for certain medications that would also be offered at lower prices. 'Make no mistake: a collaborative effort towards achieving global pricing parity would be the most effective path for companies, the government, and American patients,' Trump wrote in the letters. 'But if you refuse to step up, we will deploy every tool in our arsenal to protect American families from continued abusive drug pricing practices.' It's unclear, experts say, whether Trump has the authority to force drugmakers to lower the cost of their prescription drugs without the help of Congress. What's more, any attempt to do so is likely to be met with fierce pushback from the drug industry. 'It may take more than a tough letter from the President to motivate the pharmaceutical industry to drop their prices,' said Tricia Neuman, executive director of the program on Medicare policy at KFF, a nonpartisan health policy research group. 'The voluntary approach hasn't worked so far to drive down drug prices,' she added. 'Drug prices tend to go down when compelled by law or in response to competition.' Trump has repeatedly complained — during both terms — that people in the U.S. pay far more for prescription drugs than people in other countries. Indeed, prescription drug prices in the United States are notoriously high — up to 10 times more than in other nations of similar size and wealth, according to the Rand Corp., a public policy think tank. More than 3 in 4 adults in the U.S. say the cost of medications is unaffordable, according to a poll from KFF. In May, Trump signed an executive order instructing federal health officials to renew an effort to implement the 'most favored nation' rule — a strategy he pursued unsuccessfully during his first term. The 17 letters were sent Thursday to major drugmakers such as Eli Lilly, GSK, Pfizer, Merck, Johnson & Johnson, Amgen, Novo Nordisk and Novartis. NBC News has reached out to all 17 companies for comment. A spokesperson for Novo Nordisk said the company 'remains focused on improving patient access and affordability, and we will continue to work to find solutions that help people access the medication they need.' A spokesperson for Johnson & Johnson said the company was still reviewing the letter, and referred NBC News to the pharmaceutical industry's top lobbying group, PhRMA, for comment. PhRMA did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Trump administration does have another tool at its disposal to lower the cost of prescription drugs: Medicare drug pricing negotiations. Signed into law by President Joe Biden through the Inflation Reduction Act, the provision allows Medicare to negotiate prices on the costliest medications. The first round of negotiations is estimated to save Medicare $6 billion in 2026, when the prices are expected to go into effect.
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
Trump sends letters to pharma CEOs demanding they reduce drug prices in 60 days
President Trump escalated efforts to reduce drug prices in the US on Thursday, releasing letters sent to 17 pharmaceutical company CEOs on Truth Social. The letters, addressed to Eli Lilly (LLY), Pfizer (PFE), AstraZeneca (AZN), and others, include a 60-day deadline to implement Trump's most-favored nations clause — to reduce prices of drugs at the rates of the lowest that it sells to any developed nation — for Medicare and Medicaid enrollees. All three company stocks were trading down between 1% and 3.5% after the letters were posted. AstraZeneca declined to comment to Yahoo Finance, and requests for comment from other pharma companies were not immediately returned. "I am calling on [company] and every manufacturer doing business in our great country to take the following actions within the next 60 days," Trump wrote. "Domestic MFN pricing will require you, and all manufacturers, to negotiate harder with foreign freeloading nations," he added. Trump said that Health and Human Services (HHS) Sec. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz will be involved in the process and "stand ready to implement these terms." He ended the letters with a deadline of September 29 this year. The letters add to pressure from the White House, even as many of these CEOs have had comfortable relationships with the president. Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla, who has known Trump since his first term due to the pandemic, is also the chair of the industry's largest lobbying group, PhRMA. In both roles, he has been able to communicate directly with Trump and indicated he has done so on tariffs and other topics. He isn't alone. Eli Lilly CEO David Ricks has also been seen in Washington, D.C., and has said he has spoken to the administration. AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot has taken steps to turn the UK-based company's image into a more American one, with rumors of making the company's main listing in New York rather than London. In addition, Soriot said this week that he has sent his own proposal for reduced drug prices to the White House, with a response pending. In a statement Thursday, the White House acknowledged it had met with the companies but that "industry proposals have fallen short." The CEOs have been largely focused on cultivating a relationship with the White House and the Trump administration in hopes of avoiding tariffs on drug imports. They have collectively committed to more than $200 billion in manufacturing investments through the end of the decade and have expressed interest in helping to produce lower-cost drugs onshore, rather than lower-cost production overseas. A majority of branded drug prices in the US are higher, while generics cost less and make up a majority of the drugs consumed by Americans. "It is estimated that 91% of all prescriptions in the United States are filled as generic drugs, with more than 32,000 generic drugs approved by the FDA to date," a 2022 report from the FDA said. In a press briefing from the White House, spokesperson Karoline Leavitt read the letter to Eli Lilly aloud. She added, "According to recent data, the prices that Americans have been paying for branded drugs are more than three times the price other similarly developed nations pay. The president is determined to solve this problem." Trump has tried since his first term to pass a most-favored-nations clause for drug pricing, which would force companies to match pricing in other countries. He signed an executive order on May 12 to provide pathways for the administration to implement the clause. In a statement from the White House Thursday, Trump said, "In case after case, our citizens pay massively higher prices than other nations pay for the same exact pill, from the same factory, effectively subsidizing socialism [abroad] with skyrocketing prices at home." Anjalee Khemlani is the senior health reporter at Yahoo Finance, covering all things pharma, insurance, provider services, digital health, PBMs, and health policy and politics. That includes GLP-1s, of course. Follow Anjalee as AnjKhem on social media platforms X, LinkedIn, and Bluesky @AnjKhem. Click here for in-depth analysis of the latest health industry news and events impacting stock prices Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Yahoo
Trump sends letters to pharma CEOs demanding they reduce drug prices in 60 days
President Trump escalated efforts to reduce drug prices in the US on Thursday, releasing letters sent to 17 pharmaceutical company CEOs on Truth Social. The letters, addressed to Eli Lilly (LLY), Pfizer (PFE), AstraZeneca (AZN), and others, include a 60-day deadline to implement Trump's most-favored nations clause — to reduce prices of drugs at the rates of the lowest that it sells to any developed nation — for Medicare and Medicaid enrollees. All three company stocks were trading down between 1% and 3.5% after the letters were posted. AstraZeneca declined to comment to Yahoo Finance, and requests for comment from other pharma companies were not immediately returned. "I am calling on [company] and every manufacturer doing business in our great country to take the following actions within the next 60 days," Trump wrote. "Domestic MFN pricing will require you, and all manufacturers, to negotiate harder with foreign freeloading nations," he added. Trump said that Health and Human Services (HHS) Sec. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and CMS Administrator Mehmet Oz will be involved in the process and "stand ready to implement these terms." He ended the letters with a deadline of September 29 this year. The letters add to pressure from the White House, even as many of these CEOs have had comfortable relationships with the president. Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla, who has known Trump since his first term due to the pandemic, is also the chair of the industry's largest lobbying group, PhRMA. In both roles, he has been able to communicate directly with Trump and indicated he has done so on tariffs and other topics. He isn't alone. Eli Lilly CEO David Ricks has also been seen in Washington, D.C., and has said he has spoken to the administration. AstraZeneca CEO Pascal Soriot has taken steps to turn the UK-based company's image into a more American one, with rumors of making the company's main listing in New York rather than London. In addition, Soriot said this week that he has sent his own proposal for reduced drug prices to the White House, with a response pending. In a statement Thursday, the White House acknowledged it had met with the companies but that "industry proposals have fallen short." The CEOs have been largely focused on cultivating a relationship with the White House and the Trump administration in hopes of avoiding tariffs on drug imports. They have collectively committed to more than $200 billion in manufacturing investments through the end of the decade and have expressed interest in helping to produce lower-cost drugs onshore, rather than lower-cost production overseas. A majority of branded drug prices in the US are higher, while generics cost less and make up a majority of the drugs consumed by Americans. "It is estimated that 91% of all prescriptions in the United States are filled as generic drugs, with more than 32,000 generic drugs approved by the FDA to date," a 2022 report from the FDA said. In a press briefing from the White House, spokesperson Karoline Leavitt read the letter to Eli Lilly aloud. She added, "According to recent data, the prices that Americans have been paying for branded drugs are more than three times the price other similarly developed nations pay. The president is determined to solve this problem." Trump has tried since his first term to pass a most-favored-nations clause for drug pricing, which would force companies to match pricing in other countries. He signed an executive order on May 12 to provide pathways for the administration to implement the clause. In a statement from the White House Thursday, Trump said, "In case after case, our citizens pay massively higher prices than other nations pay for the same exact pill, from the same factory, effectively subsidizing socialism [abroad] with skyrocketing prices at home." Anjalee Khemlani is the senior health reporter at Yahoo Finance, covering all things pharma, insurance, provider services, digital health, PBMs, and health policy and politics. That includes GLP-1s, of course. Follow Anjalee as AnjKhem on social media platforms X, LinkedIn, and Bluesky @AnjKhem. Click here for in-depth analysis of the latest health industry news and events impacting stock prices Error while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data
