Report selectively cites facts to falsely argue that drug prices have fallen
WASHINGTON – In a new report released yesterday, the White House claimed that drug prices have dropped since Trump took office, despite widespread reports to the contrary, citing statistics that showed prices decreased by less than one percent in the last 12 months.
Restore Public Trust released the following statement in response:
“The White House is desperate to defend its empty rhetoric on drug pricing in its new report, but the facts tell the real story: the cost of medication for sick Americans is still astronomically high,” said Lizzy Price, director of Restore Public Trust. “The reality is, the Trump administration has failed to lower costs and make medications more accessible to the American public. As long as it keeps acquiescing to the interests of Big Pharma, curated, cherry-picked data will do nothing to convince Americans who still can’t afford the medicine they need that Trump and Azar have done enough to help them.”
The White House report, which relies on data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ CPI prescription drugs index, is very selective in the data it reports. By relying on the CPI index, the report fails to account for the full range of (often quite costly) medicines outside those purchased at pharmacies, examines a very limited scope of pharmacy-available medicines, and deemphasizes the cost of expensive branded drugs by examining them together with generic drugs, whose prices don’t tend to vary much.
Notably, there are significant connections between the Trump administration and the pharmaceutical industry. Sixteen current or former Trump administration officials have relevant ties to the industry, Trump officials have made $5.9 million from the pharmaceutical industry, and at least 19 pharmaceutical companies and lobbying groups are represented in the administration this year.
To learn more about these connections between Big Pharma and the Trump administration, please visit BigPharmasBestFriends.org.
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