Policymakers Should Work Together to Reduce Drug Costs

For Immediate Release

President Trump outlined several proposals to reduce prescription drug prices in a speech Friday. The following is a statement from Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget:

Rising prescription drug costs are a significant driver of growing Medicare costs, and growing health care costs are one of the biggest drivers of the nation’s long-term budget challenges.

We welcome efforts from the President to work at controlling these costs. The package he outlined today, along with the proposals in his budget, represent a good start. There are many other ideas out there to reduce prescription drug costs, and we encourage those with alternative or additional ideas to put them forward.

Reducing the costs of prescription drugs is an area where there is significant agreement between the parties. Indeed, several of the policies in President Trump’s budget to reduce health costs, including for prescription drugs, are similar to those made by President Obama. We hope the parties work together to develop and pass legislation to stem the growth of prescription drug spending and federal health spending more broadly.

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For more information contact Patrick Newton, press secretary, at newton@crfb.org.