Factcheck by Kaiser Health News and Politifact Finds “No Evidence” to Support Claim that Trump Is Bringing Down Drug Prices

Kaiser Health News: KHN & Politifact Factcheck– Mulvaney: Trump Brought Down Drug Prices For The First Time In 50 Years

Key Points:

• On Fox News Sunday on April 7, 2019, acting White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney said, “Drug prices in this country actually came down last year for the first time in 50 years. That’s because Donald Trump’s president.”
• Five experts agreed that evidence is “lacking to unequivocally say drug prices decreased last year.”
• “No evidence” to support Mulvaney’s claim that Trump has played a key role in bringing down drug prices.
• White House CPI data “doesn’t include many high-priced specialty drugs that drive costs up, and the pattern it illustrates can change based on the time frame selected.”

“This administration is full of hot air when it comes to lowering drug prices,” said Lizzy Price, spokesperson for Restore Public Trust. “It’s no surprise – Trump made it clear that he’s not serious about lowering drug prices when he nominated big pharma’s best friend, Alex Azar, as HHS Secretary.”

Last week, Restore Public Trust ran a full page Politico ad highlighting Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar’s tenure at Eli Lilly while the company dramatically increased insulin prices. See Restore Public Trust’s report about Secretary Azar’s tenure at Eli Lilly, when drug prices skyrocketed, and Restore Public Trust’s video ad that highlights Secretary Azar’s history as a pharmaceutical insider here.