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The Herald Scotland
13-05-2025
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
RFK Jr. and Bernie Sanders spar over Trump's prescription drug policy
"This was the fulcrum of Bernie Sanders' runs for presidency," Kennedy said, recalling the 2016 and 2020 campaigns for the White House where Sanders frequently mentioned drug prices. "That he was going to eliminate this discrepancy between Europe and the United States." More: Trump signs drug price executive order. What does it say? Touting what he said is the across-the-aisle appeal of the Trump administration's efforts, Kennedy added that a couple of his kids are Democrats and "big Bernie Sanders fans" who had "tears in their eyes" when he told them about the Republican president's new executive order. "It's one of these promises that politicians make to their constituents knowing that they'll never have to do it," said Kennedy, a former 2024 Democratic-turned-independent presidential candidate who then went on to endorse Trump's Republican campaign before joining his Cabinet earlier this year. More: RFK Jr. suspends campaign; endorses former President Trump Sanders, who failed to win the Democratic nomination in both of his past runs for president, responded to the latest Trump move by chiding the new GOP-led administration for playing politics with an issue it knows "will be thrown out by the courts." "If Trump is serious about making real change rather than just issuing a press release," Sanders added, the president and his Cabinet members would support legislation on the issue. Other Democrats were also quick to try to set the record straight. Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, said it was former Democratic President Biden's 2022 Inflation Reduction Act that empowered Medicare to negotiate prices with pharmaceutical companies on a limited number of medications. The Biden administration also negotiated lower prices on 10 widely prescribed drugs - which will take effect in 2026. In January, Medicare announced another batch of 15 drugs subject to negotiation this year. Those drugs included blockbuster diabetes and weight loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy, a cost-saving move that would take effect in 2027. Drug prices in the U.S. are still nearly three times higher than 33 comparison countries, according to a 2024 report from the Health and Human Services department. About 67 million Americans are enrolled in Medicare. During the May 12 press conference at the White House, Kennedy thanked Trump for standing "up to the oligarchs" on an issue long championed by Democratic presidential candidates, including himself and Sanders. Drug pricing discrepancies has long been a topic of concern to Sanders, who during a hearing in January of 2024 grilled the CEOs of Merck, Johnson & Johnson and Bristol Myers Squibb while complaining: "The United States government does not regulate drug companies. With a few exceptions, the drug companies regulate the United States government." Sanders returned to the theme after Kennedy referenced him at the White House, noting that he agreed with Trump that Americans are paying the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs.
USA Today
12-05-2025
- Politics
- USA Today
RFK Jr. spars with Bernie Sanders over who did most to curb prescription drug prices
RFK Jr. spars with Bernie Sanders over who did most to curb prescription drug prices Show Caption Hide Caption Bernie Sanders encouraged by Biden/Harris health care reform policies Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont discusses his views on the Biden administration's health care reform policies. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy is crediting a political rival for setting in motion President Donald Trump's newest policy aimed at lowering prescription drug prices: Bernie Sanders. Kennedy Jr. mentioned the Vermont independent senator by name during a May 12 White House press conference where Trump signed an executive order directing drugmakers to lower the prices of their medicines in alignment with global markets. 'This was the fulcrum of Bernie Sanders' runs for presidency,' Kennedy said, recalling the 2016 and 2020 campaigns for the White House where Sanders frequently mentioned drug prices. 'That he was going to eliminate this discrepancy between Europe and the United States.' More: Trump signs drug price executive order. What does it say? Touting what he said is the across-the-aisle appeal of the Trump administration's efforts, Kennedy added that a couple of his kids are Democrats and 'big Bernie Sanders fans' who had 'tears in their eyes' when he told them about the Republican president's new executive order. 'It's one of these promises that politicians make to their constituents knowing that they'll never have to do it,' said Kennedy, a former 2024 Democratic-turned-independent presidential candidate who then went on to endorse Trump's Republican campaign before joining his Cabinet earlier this year. More: RFK Jr. suspends campaign; endorses former President Trump Sanders, who failed to win the Democratic nomination in both of his past runs for president, responded to the latest Trump move by chiding the new GOP-led administration for playing politics with an issue it knows 'will be thrown out by the courts." 'If Trump is serious about making real change rather than just issuing a press release,' Sanders added, the president and his Cabinet members would support legislation on the issue. Other Democrats were also quick to try to set the record straight. Senate Finance Committee Ranking Member Ron Wyden, D-Oregon, said it was former Democratic President Biden's 2022 Inflation Reduction Act that empowered Medicare to negotiate prices with pharmaceutical companies on a limited number of medications. The Biden administration also negotiated lower prices on 10 widely prescribed drugs - which will take effect in 2026. In January, Medicare announced another batch of 15 drugs subject to negotiation this year. Those drugs included blockbuster diabetes and weight loss drugs Ozempic and Wegovy, a cost-saving move that would take effect in 2027. Drug prices in the U.S. are still nearly three times higher than 33 comparison countries, according to a 2024 report from the Health and Human Services department. About 67 million Americans are enrolled in Medicare. During the May 12 press conference at the White House, Kennedy thanked Trump for standing 'up to the oligarchs' on an issue long championed by Democratic presidential candidates, including himself and Sanders. Drug pricing discrepancies has long been a topic of concern to Sanders, who during a hearing in January of 2024 grilled the CEOs of Merck, Johnson & Johnson and Bristol Myers Squibb while complaining: 'The United States government does not regulate drug companies. With a few exceptions, the drug companies regulate the United States government.' Sanders returned to the theme after Kennedy referenced him at the White House, noting that he agreed with Trump that Americans are paying the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs.
The Herald Scotland
12-05-2025
- Health
- The Herald Scotland
Trump to sign executive order seeking to reduce drug prices
Full details of the order, which drew immediate resistance from the pharmaceutical industry, were unclear. "I will be instituting a MOST FAVORED NATION'S POLICY whereby the United States will pay the same price as the Nation that pays the lowest price anywhere in the World," Trump said in a post on Truth Social. "Our Country will finally be treated fairly, and our citizens Healthcare Costs will be reduced by numbers never even thought of before." U.S. healthcare system: Trump administration drops Biden plan for Medicare to cover weight-loss drugs Drug prices in the United States are nearly three times higher than 33 comparison countries, according to a 2024 report from the Health and Human Services department. About 67 million Americans are enrolled in Medicare. Drugmakers expect the order to apply to a universe of drugs beyond the 10 subject to Medicare's negotiated prices under Biden's Inflation Reduction Act. The lowered prices from the Biden-era law are set to go into effect in 2026. 'Government price setting in any form is bad for American patients' Trump unveiled a "most favored nation" drug pricing rule in 2020, the final year of his first term, but the measure was rescinded after President Joe Biden was elected. Critics of the "most favored nation" concept argue that drug companies could game the system by securing deals with foreign governments for rebates to maintain current drug pricing in the United States. Others say it could stifle innovation in medicine if the pharmaceutical industry loses profits. "Government price setting in any form is bad for American patients," Alex Schriver, a spokesperson for the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, the top lobbying arm of the drug industry, said in a statement when asked about Trump's planned executive order. Price hikes: Drugmakers to raise US prices on over 250 medicines starting Jan. 1 Trump has teased the drug pricing announcement for days, hinting at a "very big announcement" before he departs May 12 for a trip to the Middle East with stops in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. "As big as it gets," he said. Shortly before announcing his plans to sign the executive order, Trump wrote on Truth Social: "My next TRUTH will be one of the most important and impactful I have ever issued." Contributing: Reuters. Reach Joey Garrison on X @joeygarrison.
USA Today
12-05-2025
- Business
- USA Today
Trump says he will sign order aimed at cutting drug prices to match other countries
Trump says he will sign order aimed at cutting drug prices to match other countries Show Caption Hide Caption President Trump announces 'tremendous' UK trade deal President Donald Trump announced a trade deal with the U.K., the first trade agreement since he imposed sweeping tariffs in April. WASHINGTON ― President Donald Trump said he will sign an executive order that institutes a "most favored nation" policy for drug pricing, reviving a plan from his first term that he said will reduce prescription drug and pharmaceutical prices "almost immediately, by 30% to 80%." The order, which Trump plans to sign at 9 a.m. ET on May 12, is expected to direct the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to adopt the policy, which would set prescription drug prices to match those of comparable countries. Full details of the order, which drew immediate resistance from the pharmaceutical industry, were unclear, including which insurance programs and drugs would fall under the initiative. During his first term, Trump in 2020 pushed a "most favored nation" rule that would have applied to Medicare payments but was later rescinded by the Biden administration. "I will be instituting a MOST FAVORED NATION'S POLICY whereby the United States will pay the same price as the Nation that pays the lowest price anywhere in the World," Trump said in a May 11 post on Truth Social. "Our Country will finally be treated fairly, and our citizens Healthcare Costs will be reduced by numbers never even thought of before." Drug prices in the United States are nearly three times higher than 33 comparison countries, according to a 2024 report from the Health and Human Services department. About 67 million Americans are enrolled in Medicare. Trump's plan to sign the drug price order was first reported last week by Politico, which said Trump planned to pursue the policy for certain drugs within the Medicare program. U.S. healthcare system: Trump administration drops Biden plan for Medicare to cover weight-loss drugs 'Government price setting in any form is bad for American patients' Drugmakers expect the order to apply to a universe of drugs beyond the 10 subject to Medicare's negotiated prices under Biden's Inflation Reduction Act. The lowered prices from the Biden-era law are set to go into effect in 2026. Critics of the "most favored nation" concept argue that drug companies could game the system by securing deals with foreign governments for rebates to maintain current drug pricing in the United States. Others say it could stifle innovation in medicine if the pharmaceutical industry loses profits. "Government price setting in any form is bad for American patients," Alex Schriver, a spokesperson for the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, the top lobbying arm of the drug industry, said in a statement when asked about Trump's planned executive order. Price hikes: Drugmakers to raise US prices on over 250 medicines starting Jan. 1 Trump has teased the drug pricing announcement for days, hinting at a "very big announcement" before he departs May 12 for a trip to the Middle East with stops in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates. "As big as it gets," he said. Shortly before announcing his plans to sign the executive order, Trump wrote on Truth Social: "My next TRUTH will be one of the most important and impactful I have ever issued." Contributing: Reuters. Reach Joey Garrison on X @joeygarrison. (This story was updated to add new information.)
The Hill
01-04-2025
- Politics
- The Hill
Susan Collins says Trump is right to probe Maine over transgender athletes
Sen. Susan Collins (Maine), a prominent Senate Republican moderate, says President Trump is right to scrutinize her state's law that 'allows biological males to play in girls' sports,' calling the law contrary to the 'spirit and intent' of Title IX, which prohibits sex-based discrimination at schools. 'I believe that the State of Maine is under scrutiny because of the state law that allows biological males to play in girls' sports. And that is contrary, not just to the President's executive order, but what I believe is the very spirit and intent of Title IX, which was to provide sports and other athletic activities to girls in a safe and fair way,' Collins said in a Monday statement. The Trump administration launched an investigation after school officials in Maine said they would not comply with his executive order to bar transgender women and girls from participating in women's sports. Collins said it is 'critically important to treat people who are transgender with respect and dignity' but she argued that the state must still comply with Title IX. She said the need to treat transgender students respectfully 'does not change the fact that Title IX, which passed in 1972, has greatly expanded opportunities for girls and young women to participate in organized sports at the high school and college levels.' She said the landmark law did so by 'mandating equal access to athletic resources and facilities on the basis of sex — not on the basis of gender identity.' 'Safe and fair athletic competition has been one of the keys to the success of Title IX. That is why I do not believe that transgender athletes should compete in girls' and women's athletics,' Collins said. 'That is why I do not believe that transgender athletes should compete in girls' and women's athletics.' The Health and Human Services department has claimed that Maine's Department of Education and its schools are violating Title IX by allowing transgender athletes to compete against girls. The Trump administration is also investigating whether Maine schools broke the law by withholding information about gender-transitioning students from parents. Trump signed an executive order in early February to 'rescind all funds from educational programs that deprive women and girls of fair athletic opportunities.' It also made it the policy of the United States to 'oppose male competitive participation in women's sports more broadly, as a matter of safety, fairness, dignity and truth.' Later that month, Trump and Maine Gov. Janet Mills (D) publicly clashed at the White House over the issue. 'I'm complying with state and federal law,' Mills told the president after he asked if she would comply with his executive order. 'We are the federal law. You better do it because you're not going to get federal funding,' Trump said. 'See you in court,' Mills responded. On March 11, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced it was temporarily pausing funding to the University of Maine system 'while USDA evaluates if it should take any follow-on actions related to prospective Title VI or Title IX violations.' Collins is a top Democratic target in the 2026 midterm election as she is the only Senate Republican running for reelection in a state that former Vice President Kamala Harris won in November. Collins won reelection in 2020 despite Democrats pouring tens of millions of dollars into Maine to defeat her. She won by nearly 10 percentage points that year despite Joe Biden also winning the state.
