BITTER PILL

Trump Administration’s Deal Over Drug Prices Fell Apart Over $100 Gift Cards for Seniors: NYT

“We could not agree to the administration’s plan to issue one-time savings cards right before a presidential election,” said a rep for the industry’s largest trade group.

As the White House neared a deal with pharmaceutical executives to reduce drug prices via a $150 billion spend by the companies, Donald Trump’s Chief of Staff Mark Meadows demanded that drugmakers also send out $100 rebate cards to millions of senior citizens in the U.S., The New York Times reports. The executives refused the “Trump cards,” which would be mailed before the November election, and the negotiations collapsed. Priscilla VanderVeer, the vice president of public affairs for the industry’s largest trade group, PhRMA, told the Times, “We could not agree to the administration’s plan to issue one-time savings cards right before a presidential election.” Trump has repeatedly promised he will lower drug prices in speeches.