Trump's Bully Pulpit Didn’t Stop Drug-Price Hikes
Pharmaceutical companies are raising prices again, and it will take more than a presidential tweet storm to stop them.
Naming and shaming drugmakers won’t necessarily change their behavior.
Photographer:A\ndrew Harrer/Bloomberg
It’s almost July Fourth, and for most Americans, that means breaking out the red, white and blue streamers, firing up the grill and securing a good viewing spot for the local fireworks. Pharmaceutical companies observe a different July tradition – the mid-year bump – when many of them raise drug prices. This year was no exception.
On Monday, prices went up on 104 drugs (including different doses and package sizes of the same medicines), according to RX Savings Solutions, a company that sells software to help health plans save money on prescriptions. These include drugs used by hospitals and antibiotics that are in short supply, as well as prominent cancer drugs.