Concerns have been raised over the ethics of former pharmaceutical industry lobbyist Joe steering the Trump administration ’s drug price plan . Grogan has sweeping authority over drug pricing and other aspects of federal policy as associate director of health programs at the Office of Management and Budget ( OMB ) . Prior to joining the administration , he worked as a top lobbyist for Life Sciences , the company which kicked off the drug price controversy with its hepatitis C pill Sovaldi back in 2014 . In his last year , Grogan was Gilead ’s head of federal affairs and listed as lobbying on areas such as Food and Drug Administration ( FDA ) policy and the coverage and reimbursement of drugs in federal health programs . But , upon joining the White House , he did not get a waiver from a Trump directive that set a two - year cooling - off period between lobbying and regulating on the same “ specific issue area . ” The Trump administration claims Grogan does not need a change as his role in the OMB affects policy for a whole industry , not just the company he used to work for . But with Trump now vowing to take on the high cost of prescription drugs , Grogan will be in a key position to shape policy and some critics see a conflict . Norman Eisen , former ethics chief for the Obama administration and chairman of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington , said the policy area was “ too close ” to what Grogan worked on as as lobbyist . Grogan is not the only former industry official or lobbyist in the upper echelons of the Trump administration , but he is an exception among top health officials for not completing federal ethics forms . Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Seema Verma have also completed such forms . The administration ’s recent 44-page blueprint on drug pricing included policy areas that Grogan touched upon at Gilead . Ethics watchdogs say that it is not rare to have former industry officials on board but the question is whether their actions benefit their previous employers . A top OMB official said there was no conflict over Grogan , as the Obama administration did not work on drug pricing while he at Gilead . Grogan has also sought guidance from OMB lawyers to ensure compliance with ethics rules , the official added . But health policy observers say that his role is still troubling . Gilead ’s pricing of hep C drugs ended up sparking a 18-month long inquiry by the Senate Finance Committee , that found the company tried to maximise revenue Sovaldi at $ 84,000 for a course of treatment . An OMB spokesman dismissed concerns about possible conflicts , saying that Trump ’s proposals for the 2019 budget would hurt , not boost , the bottom lines of many brand - name drugmakers . But critics argue Grogan should recuse himself from working on Trump ’s drugs pricing plan . John Rother , president of the National Coalition on Health Care , said it was “ not appropriate ” for a drug lobbyist to help shape federal policy on issues he lobbied on .
Concerns have been raised over the ethics of former pharmaceutical industry lobbyist Joe steering the Trump administration’s drug price plan. Grogan has sweeping authority over drug pricing and other aspects of federal policy as associate director of health programs at the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Prior to joining the OMB, he worked as a top lobbyist for Gilead Sciences, the company which set off the drug price controversy with its hepatitis C pill Sovaldi back in 2014. In his last year, Grogan was Gilead’s head of federal affairs and listed as lobbying on areas such as Food and Drug Administration (FDA) policy and the coverage and reimbursement of drugs in federal health programs. But, upon joining the White House, he did not get a waiver from a Trump directive that set a two-year cooling-off period between lobbying and regulating on the same “specific issue area.” The Trump administration claims Grogan does not need a waiver as his role in the OMB affects policy for a whole industry, not just the company he used to work for. But with Trump now vowing to take on the high cost of prescription drugs, Grogan will be in a key position to shape policy and some critics see a conflict. Norman Eisen, former ethics chief for the Obama administration and chairman of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, said the policy area was “too close” to what Grogan worked on as as lobbyist. Grogan is not the only former industry official or lobbyist in the upper echelons of the Trump administration, but he is an exception among top health officials for not completing federal ethics forms. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Administrator Seema Verma have also completed such forms. The administration’s recent 44-page blueprint on drug pricing included policy areas that Grogan touched upon at Gilead. Ethics watchdogs say that it is not rare to have former industry officials on board but the question is whether their actions benefit their previous employers. A top OMB official said there was no conflict over Grogan, as the Obama administration did not work on drug pricing while he at Gilead. Grogan has also sought guidance from OMB lawyers to ensure compliance with ethics rules, the official added. But health policy observers say that his role is still troubling. Gilead’s pricing of hep C drugs ended up sparking a 18-month long inquiry by the Senate Finance Committee, that found the company tried to maximise revenue Sovaldi at $84,000 for a course of treatment. An OMB spokesman dismissed concerns about possible conflicts, saying that Trump’s proposals for the 2019 budget would hurt, not boost, the bottom lines of many brand-name drugmakers. But critics argue Grogan should recuse himself from working on Trump’s drugs pricing plan. John Rother, president of the National Coalition on Health Care, said it was “not appropriate” for a drug lobbyist to help shape federal policy on issues he lobbied on.