In a recent conversation with SiriusXM's Megyn Kelly, Walter Kirn, Editor-at-large for "County Highway", expressed his opinion that Senator Bernie Sanders should extend his support to President Donald Trump's initiative to reduce drug prices.
This is a cause that Sanders, an Independent from Vermont, has been vocal about in the past.
As reported by the Daily Caller, Sanders, a well-known critic of the pharmaceutical industry, has previously highlighted the excessive profits made in the U.S. from the diabetes drug Ozempic. He argued that the drug could be sold for less than $100. During the discussion about Sanders' criticism and Trump's new executive order to cut drug costs, Kelly pondered over the possible reaction of the Democrats and sought Kirn's perspective.
Kelly noted, "He [Trump] says this could save people up to 80% on their drug costs. Number one, theres likely to be another lawsuit by Big Pharma saying this is an inappropriate end around Congress." She further added, "Number two, itll be really interesting to see how the Democrats react to Donald Trump pushing this kind of Bernie-blessed program when it comes to pharmaceuticals."
Kirn responded by questioning, "Is this a country of politics or a country of issues?" He pointed out that both Sanders and Trump are in agreement on this issue. He stated, "Bernie has been loud on this matter for a long time. He should get his butt over to the White House and show some solidarity on this because theyre going to need it against the greatest lobby in American life next to the, I suppose, military-industrial complex."
On Monday, Trump, accompanied by members of his administration including Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., signed an executive order aimed at equalizing international drug prices and pressuring drug manufacturers to increase prices in Europe.
Trump's order highlighted the "egregious imbalance" created by a "purposeful scheme in which drug manufacturers" offer significant discounts abroad and "subsidize that decrease through enormously high prices in the United States." Trump predicted that this move could reduce U.S. prices by 59% or more.
Kirn criticized the U.S. justification for higher prices to subsidize research and development of drugs, enabling the rest of the world to benefit from lower prices, as "ridiculous." He stated, "But it has been the fig leaf, the massive fig leaf that they have used to cover their profiteering for decades."
Kirn also pointed out that the Obamacare legislation, which aimed to lower prices for American healthcare, did not include negotiation with drug companies for lower prices. He stated, "Everybody noticed that at the time, that carve-out, as it were. Now Trumps ending it."
Despite his previous advocacy for lower prescription costs, Sanders issued a statement on Monday stating that while he agreed with Trump on the issue of high drug prices, he believes the problem lies with the "greedy pharmaceutical industry" and not Europe.
Sanders wrote, "The problem is not that the price of prescription drugs is too low in Europe and Canada. The problem is that the extraordinarily greedy pharmaceutical industry made over $100 billion in profits last year by ripping off the American people."
Sanders also expressed skepticism about the effectiveness of Trump's executive order, stating, "Further, as Trump well knows, his executive order will be thrown out by the courts."
During the signing, Kennedy Jr. acknowledged Sanders' advocacy on the issue but emphasized that Trump is the President who fulfilled the promise to voters. Kennedy Jr. and Sanders have previously clashed, with the former accusing Sanders of corruption for accepting pharmaceutical industry donations. This clash occurred during Kennedy Jr.'s confirmation hearing as HHS secretary in January.
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