Every businessperson understands the “art of the deal” has little to do with art and everything to do with leverage. But as we discovered when President Donald Trump released his long-promised plan to lower drug prices, the business of politics often trumps real-world business principles. Nowhere in the ironically titled “American Patients First” blueprint is there any requirement for Medicare to negotiate directly with drug manufacturers. So, despite all of Trump’s rhetoric and promises, pharmaceutical companies and their lobbyists won, and seniors lost. Patients are not the first priority after all. I was heartened by President Trump’s often-repeated campaign promise to leverage Medicare’s purchasing power to rein in runaway drug costs. From a business perspective, allowing Medicare to seek lower prices — the way the Veterans Administration does — is a no-brainer. As the single largest payer for health care in the U.S., Medicare is the gateway to a vast marketplace including 42 million seniors and people with disabilities covered under Part D — who happen to be the highest-volume consumers of pharmaceuticals. I assume that when Trump built hotels and golf courses, he used leverage to get a better deal. Why isn’t he doing it on behalf of Americans? Is it because he’s mired in the political swamp he promised so famously to drain? Perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised since President Trump recently replaced the head of Health and Human Services with a former president at Eli Lilly and board director of a major pharmaceutical lobbying group. On the day Trump announced his plan, major pharmaceutical indices rose by almost 2 percent and have either maintained or increased in value since. Why? Because investors realize Trump’s plan gives drug companies a “free pass” to continue excessive profiteering from elderly and poor Americans. I didn’t go to a fancy business school like the president did. But I worked hard for 40 years alongside my wife to build a business that employed tens of thousands of Americans. This was a daily, real-world education in profit and loss and supply and demand. After we sold our multibillion-dollar company in 2006, we pledged our entire net worth to making health care affordable and accessible to America’s seniors. I’m speaking out — as a businessman and advocate for the aging — to remind all Americans that when we sell out Medicare beneficiaries to strike a sweetheart deal for the pharmaceutical industry, we’re not just cheating our parents and grandparents, we’re also short-selling ourselves. Future taxpayers and seniors are likely to inherit a bankrupt Medicare system. There are too many entrenched interests that like our overpriced, dysfunctional health care system the way it is. Three straight administrations have sold out seniors, beginning with President George W. Bush. He helped pass the 2003 Medicare law establishing Part D, which explicitly prohibited the program from negotiating prices. President Barack Obama sought to change that, however, nothing came of it. Since then, drug prices have risen without restraint, causing many patients to forego treatments they need. Trump’s “blueprint” is a sham for taxpayers and a boon for pharmaceutical stocks and their top executives who make obscene amounts of money. The top 14 pharma CEOs made an average of $20 million in compensation in 2015! So, what’s it going to take to make things right? An act of Congress. With the White House clearly in the grip of Big Pharma, the House and Senate must repeal the no-negotiation clause and replace it with legislation mandating Medicare to directly negotiate. It’s difficult to imagine the current Congress taking action to do the right thing for seniors — unless they deem it politically expedient. As usual, it’s up to us taxpaying voters to make our voices heard now through the mid-terms in November at the polls. Last year, a survey found 92 percent of Americans support Medicare negotiating drug prices. If that many voters can’t convince Congress and the White House to stop putting profits and campaign contributions before patients, then I don’t know what can. It’s time to get patients a fair deal on drug prices. Let’s require Medicare to negotiate and let’s have a plan that really puts “American Patients First.” West is founder of West Health, a nonprofit, nonpartisan family of health care research, policy and philanthropic organizations based in San Diego and focused on improving health care for seniors and lowering its costs.
Older patients will lose out with President Donald Trump’s American Patients First proposal as there is no requirement for Medicare to negotiate directly with drugmakers, writes West Health Health founder Gary West Health. So despite all of Trump’s promises, Big Pharma and its lobbyists have won, and patients are not top priority after all. West Health said he was originally heartened by the president’s campaign vow to leverage Medicare’s buying power to rein in prescription medicine prices. After all, letting Medicare seek lower prices like the Veterans Administration does is a “no-brainer” from a business perspective. Medicare is the single largest payer for US health care and acts as a gateway to a huge marketplace including 42 million seniors and people with disabilities covered under Part D, who are also the highest-volume consumers of medication. So why isn’t Trump – who knows the “art of the deal” has everything to do with leverage – not acting on behalf of Americans? Trump recently replaced the head of Health and Human Services with a former pharmaceutical chief and lobbyist. On the day he announced his American Patients First blueprint, major pharmaceutical indices rose by nearly 2 percent and have maintained or risen in value since. This is because investors know that Trump’s proposal gives pharma firms a “free pass” to continue profiteering from older and poor Americans. When we sell out Medicare beneficiaries to strike a “sweetheart deal” for Big Pharma, we are short-selling ourselves and cheating our parents and grandparents, says West Health. Future taxpayers and seniors are likely to inherit a bankrupt Medicare system. As such, Trump’s proposal is a sham for taxpayers and a windfall for drugmakers. An act of Congress is what is needed to make things right, West Health writes. The House and Senate need to repeal the no-negotiation clause and replace it with legislation authorising Medicare to directly negotiate with drug makers. But it is hard to imagine the current Congress acting on behalf of seniors, unless they deem it politically beneficial – so voters need to make their voices heard in the November midterms. A 2017 survey found that 90 percent of Americans back Medicare directly negotiating drug prices so they can make a difference. So go out and vote to get patients a fair deal on drug prices, urges West Health. “Let’s require Medicare to negotiate and let’s have a plan that really puts ‘American Patients First.’”