Skip to main content

tv   The Intelligence Report With Trish Regan  FOX Business  May 11, 2018 2:00pm-3:00pm EDT

2:00 pm
talk about costs, how you pay for stuff with the office of management and budget director mick mulvaney, special before the live on 10:00 to 12, fox news. don't forget to watch that. meantime trish regan to take you through the president's remarks. >> hello, neil. you're looking at live picture where the president any moment will unveil his plan to lower soaring drug prices. i'm trick -- trish regan, welcome to "the intelligence report." he wants to bring relief to millions of americans who he says are paying way too much. many americans are for prescription drugs. he is set to unveil a plan that will lower drug prices, induce competition and pressure foreign companies. that is all part of the president's america first policy that they are effectively freeloading off of our medical breakthroughs. they're benefiting while our
2:01 pm
folks pay lots of money for these drugs. so he wants to know how is it fair we're spending millions to develop new drugs and yet other countries are selling our drugs for a lot less money than we sell them for. as we wait for president i'm johned right here on set by former health and human services under president george w. bush and former utah governor michael leavitt. good to have you here. >> thank you, trish. trish: let's start with your sense where this is going right now? is he going to be successful in this attempt? what is he going to ask for? >> the president has made a commitment, secretary azar has made a commitment they will seek ways to reduce prescription drug costs. today he will lay out a plan. i think one thing to watch for, are there things that actually begin to make people upset in the drug business? if there are, i think you can
2:02 pm
assume it's real. from what i read there may be something here for every one to be a little upset with, except consumers f it works, i think there is a good chance it will, we'll see a reduction in drug costs. >> that is is a good thing. >> that is a very good thing. trish: you look at some of the statistics, we gathered some, i will share them with you and the viewer, look at a drug like human meara, in the u.s. we pay $2700 for 30 day-supply. in switzerland they pay $800 for the exact same drug for same amount of time. a cancer drug almost $4,000 in the u.s. in spain they're paying 1500. and you start to say why is this? i will ask you that, why is it? >> because in our country we price the cost of research and
2:03 pm
development into the drug. by the time it is approved in the marketplace, they go to europe, then they're doing a bid on this drug and they're bidding at a price that is without that. i actually spoke once to a group of health regulators in the uk and said to them, you're not paying a fair share of the drug development costs. they were unsettled by it. they pushed back. but the president is right to do this what he is saying is absolutely true. they're not paying for their part of research and development. trish: here is the thing. if you're the drug company, why aren't you asking for the research and development to be built in? why are you willing to sell it so much, for so much less to europe? >> because it is paid for in the united states. it is all incree mental revenue for them once they get out of the united states. in many respect this is is a trade problem, not simply, it's a problem we need to deal with as a trade problem. they are not paying their share.
2:04 pm
the president's right, you're right. but worry, the way we price drugs in this country we pay for the r&d in the united states, and every dollar they pay for outside of the united states becomes incremental revenue and becomes profit. trish: i got it. we made money in the u.s. we'll make a whole bunch of extra money all around the world. the president on the campaign trail over and over and over again, you see his family, ivanka trump, gathered as we await the speech for president trump, on the campaign trail he said, he promised he would renegotiate all this stuff. he said, how is it right, medicare, for example, doesn't have a better deal with some of these drug companies? why is it that switzerland is negotiating a heck of a deal on drug prices but the u.s. government isn't? >> drug prices are being negotiated in the united states but the area where they're being negotiated is between the purchaser and a group of companies that no one pays much
2:05 pm
attention to called pharmaceutical benefit managers or pbms, and they are negotiating with insurance companies and with the payers of drugs intensely there. is negotiating happening in the united states. i think the president has got it right here. make certain foreign governments purchasing these drugs are paying their fair share. trish: i go back to the responsibility of the company itself. i mean in a free market environment i get what you're saying. they consider it gravy. it already has been paid for. they will sell it not for pennies on the dollar, but effectively a whole lot less what they sell it for in the u.s. shouldn't he pressure companies you have a threshold, selling in the u.s. talking specifically about now, harvoni, hepatitis-c drug, four-week supply, $30,000 in the u.s., in
2:06 pm
switzerland, 18,000. so why doesn't he say to this manufacturer, you're not allowed to sell it overseas for that little? >> i think we're going to hear the president lay out a group of policies today that will begin to move that direction, both outside of the united states and inside of the united states. to say we need to have more competition so that people are able to bear the benefit of that, particularly among drugs that are generic or similar. we need to have the capacity for competition to drive those costs down and he may introduce some government intervention there. trish: you also need still an incentive, right? these drug companies need to know they will make money off of their products in order to be out there researching. we have the best pharmaceutical industry in the world because we put a lot into r&d here. >> that is the reason i think the president is correct to begin looking outside of the united states because there, we are their research and development budget.
2:07 pm
we're paying for it, as american consumers. they're getting benefit incrementally. it is not a bad thing for the drug companies because they're getting their costs paid for. american innovation, this is one of the great bastions of american leadership. this is one of the things we clearly have a lead in. trish: let me throw this at you, mr. secretary. what if you said to the drug companies, we will not pay any differently than switzerland. go negotiate with switzerland and we pay the same rate. maybe they are forced to actually get switzerland to pay a little bit more so that they offset us? >> we'll see what the president says but the dilemma he faces is one that is well-known to people like me who actually negotiated drug prices. the only thing you have to really negotiate with is lack of access to the market unless you say you do it for this price, we'll not give you access to the market. that is the government deciding what choices consumers will have
2:08 pm
instead of consumers and i think what he is looking for is find ways to use competition to drive those prices but at the same type leave choices in the hands of consumers but get machine any from those outside of the united states who using our research and development budget. trish: it really, it is innovative when you think about it in those way, right? we need to focus on our economic priorities, what makes us the most competitive but not hurt any creativity and everything that can go into creating the best products you're walking a very tight line. interesting plan he comes up with we'll hear what he is going
2:09 pm
to require. >> thank you very much. i want to thank secretary azar, secretary asar, secretary mnuchin, secretary ross, ambassador lighthizer, commissioner gottlieb. scott gottlieb has done a fantastic job. where is scott? stand up. stand up. [applause] right to try is happening, right? we have that moving, right to try, so important. administrator verna, director mulvaney for being here with us today in the beautiful rose garden at the white house. we're also honored to be joined by senator bill cassidy, senator. where is senator cassidy? please. [applause] one of my great friend. senator orrin hatch. thank you, orrin.
2:10 pm
[applause] thank you. congressman michael burgess. michael, thank you very much. [applause] congressman buddy carter. [applause] congressman greg gianfotte. thank you, greg. numerous state officials from all over the country. today my administration is launching the most sweeping action in history to lower the price of prescription drugs for the american people. we've wanted to be doing this. we've been working on it right from day one. it has been a complicated process but not too complicated and today it is happening. we will have tougher negotiation, nor competition and much lower prices at the pharmacy counter, and it will start to take effect very soon.
2:11 pm
my administration has already taken significant steps to get drug prices under control. we reformed the drug discount program for safety-net hospitals, to save senior citizens hundreds of millions of dollars on drugs this year alone. we're also increasing competition and reducing regulatory burdens so drugs can be gotten to the market quicker and cheaper. we're very much eliminating the middleman. the middleman became very, very rich. right? [applause] whoever those middlemen were, a lot of people didn't anything it out they're rich. they won't be so rich anymore. last year the fda approved more than 1000 low-cost generics, the most in history, which has already saved the american
2:12 pm
people nearly $9 billion, thank you, scott. [applause] we'll take on one of the biggest obstacles to affordable medicine, the special interests. not too many are sitting here today but they used to be here all the time. the drug lobby is making an absolute fortune at the expense of american consumers. no industry spends more money on lobbying the pharmaceutical health products industry. last year these companies spent nearly $280 million on lobby lobbyists. that is more than tobacco, oil, and defense contractors combined. health insurance companies and other providers spent another $200 million to protect the status quo and to keep prices artificially high. and they have been very
2:13 pm
successful doing it for many, many years. every one involved in the broken system, the drugmakers, insurance companies, distributors, pharmacy benefit managers, and many others contribute to the problem. government has also been part of the problem because previous leaders turned a blind eye to this incredible abuse. but under this administration we're putting american patients first. [applause] thank you. i've ininstructed secretary azar to begin moving forward on reforms that will bring soaring drug prices back down to earth. our plan takes steps to derail the gravy train for special interests by ending obamacare's
2:14 pm
twisted incentives that actually encourage higher drug prices. it also gives medicare part-d plans new tools to negotiate lower prices for more drugs and makes sure that medicare, part d, incentives encourage drug companies to keep prices low. it is a big incentive to do that. we are not going to reward companies that constantly raise prices. which, in the past, has been most companies. frankly, alex used to run one of them. nobody knows the system better than alex. that is why we need it. and a very successful one. our plan will end the dishonest double dealing that allows the middleman to pocket rebates and discounts that should be passed on to consumers and patients. our plan bans the pharmacist gag
2:15 pm
rule which punishes pharmacists telling patients how to save money. [applause] this is a total ripoff and we are ending it. we're getting tough on the drugmakers that exploit our patent laws to choke out competition. our patent system will reward innovation but it will not be used as a shield to protect unfair monopolies. the fda will also speed up the approval process for over-the-counter medicines so that patients can get more medicines without prescription. finally as we demand fairness for american patients, at home we will also demand fairness overseas. when foreign governments extort
2:16 pm
unreasonably low prices from u.s. drugmakers, americans have to pay more to subsidize the enormous costs of research and development. in some cases medicine that costs a few dollars in a foreign country costs hundred of dollars in america for the same pill, with the same ingredients, in the same package, made in the same plant, and that is unacceptable. you can look at many so of the countries. their medicine is a tiny fraction what the medicine cost notice usa. it is unfair, it is ridiculous, and it is not going to happen any longer. [applause] it is time to end the global freeloading once and for all. i have directed u.s. trade
2:17 pm
representative bob lighthizer to make fixing this injustice a top priority with every trading partner. we have great power over the trading partners. you're seeing that already. america will not be cheated any longer. and especially will not be cheated by foreign countries. the american people deserve a health care system that takes care of them, not one that taxes and takes advantage of our patients and our consumers and our citizens. these reforms are just the beginning. in the coming weeks we will work with congress to pass legislation that will save americans even more money at the pharmacy. for that we need the help of congress and we think it will be forthcoming. we will work every day to insure
2:18 pm
all americans have access to the quality, affordable medication they need and they deserve. and we will not rest until this job of unfair pricing is a total victory for the usa. it will happen and it is going to happen quickly. so thank you again, everybody in the audience. thank you secretary azar and i'd like to ask the secretary, a very talented man and come up to do a little explanation. we'll see the prices go down. it will be a beautiful thing to watch, thank you. mr. secretary. [applause] >> thank you very much, mr. president, for that powerful call to action and for your leadership on this issue. i can tell you i interact with
2:19 pm
the president about every three days by phone or in person and there has not been one discussion with the president in any circumstance where drug pricing and bringing down drug prices has not been the first and last thing that he has mentioned to me. you have made it clear how important it is to bring down health care costs for the american people, and get better deals on drug pricing in particular. that's why you made history today, by laying out the most comprehensive action plan for drug affordability of any president in our history. the problem of high prescription drug costs is something that's been talked about in washington for a long time but that's all it's been, talk, talk, talk. we're privileged to have a president finally taking action by laying out a blueprint for so solving these problems using private sector competition and private sector negotiation. we're not going to propose cheap political gimmicks.
2:20 pm
the president's blueprint is a sophisticated approach to reforming and improving this unbelievably complex system. everybody at hhs is rolling up their sleeves to get to work own this. let me just give a couple of examples. think about all the time that everybody spends watching drug company ads on tv, and how much information companies are required to put in them. if we want to have a real market for drugs, why not have them disclose their prices in the ads too? [applause] consumers would have much more balanced information and companies would have a very different set of incentives for setting their prices. we're immediately going to look into having the fda require this. president trump has called for tougher negotiation and better deals. so we're going to deliver on that too. our blueprint brings the latest negotiation tools to our
2:21 pm
government programs. it also expands private sector negotiation to parts of medicare where right now hhs just gets the bill and we pay it. these are just some of the more 50 actions that hhs has planned or has under consideration in the blueprint for action released today. this is not a one and done deal. it's a comprehensive process and as the president said it will take time to reorder its entire complex, multibillion-dollar system of our economy. but we are going to drive real change in the system while continuing to lead the world in innovation and patient access to medicine. so thank you again, mr. president, for your vision, your leadership. we're eager to get to work with real competition and with the right incentives. your blueprint is it going to finally put american patients first. and at this point i will be joining sarah huckabee sanders for the press briefing this afternoon, able to take
2:22 pm
questions to provide more detailed information of all the elements of all the president's plan. so thank you very much. [applause] >> thank you very much. trish: all right. that was the president of the united states as well as health and human service secretary talking about how things are going to soon change. are we going to be seeing lower drug prices here in the united states of america. this is something that the president campaigned on repeatedly, health and human services secretary alex azar saying that something the president asks him about daily. he starts and ends the conversation how we get these drug prices down. one of the things we heard the president bring up, former health and human services secretary, mr. levitt, michael leavitt explained to us as we went into that speech by the president is that europeans are
2:23 pm
paying far less for the exact same drugs. if we have a highlight from that speech, here is the president indeed making that point. we'll hang tight on that. when we have that we'll bring it to you. effectively said you can go out to buy the exact same pill in europe exact same thing and it will cost awe few dollars where here in the united states of america it costs you a few hundred dollars. why is that and how do we fix that? why should the u.s. be subsidizing the rest of the world. joining me with reaction, family and emergency medicine doctor, jenette and heritage foundation senior fellow. good to see you both. how is that? why is it that? in switzerland and we're showing everybody the numbers, they are paying far less for something than your patients, dr. jenette, are? >> that is a great speech, music
2:24 pm
to my ears what that means my patients will live longer and be able to afford their medications. one thing president trump said we're going to eliminate the middleman. that probably means the pbms, the pharmacy benefit managers are taking rebate savings those in other countries don't have. in the other countries the government directly negotiates prices with the pharmaceutical prices which in our country we can not do that. that is illegal for the federal government to directly negotiate, medicaid directly negotiate prices with the pharmaceutical companies. so that definitely may play a role. it is unfair. i'm happy to see it changeses our own way. trish: it is illegal for us to negotiate with pharmacy companies, because as secretary leavitt said, concerned about the federal government facing winners and losers? >> exactly. i love the fact that our
2:25 pm
president touted the idea of the federal government directly negotiating with pharmaceutical companies and directly eliminating the pbms. we have the most advanced technology in the world. yet i have patients having to decide should she spend their money on their medication or food? that is heart-breaking to me. if you don't have cancer or diabetes medicine it, can be life-threatening. this is detriment al to impact of many patients in the country. trish: it is wild to think that. in a country with so many advantages and wonderful standard of living that people are put in that position. here is the president, ed. i want your reaction what he said. listen here. >> when foreign governments extort unreasonably low prices from u.s. drugmakers, americans have to pay more to subsidize
2:26 pm
the enormous cost of research and development. in some case, medicine that costs a few dollars, in a foreign country, costs hundreds of dollars in america, for the same pill, with the same ingredients in the same package, made in the same plant. that is unacceptable. trish: ed, how do we change it? >> well i think it is interesting that the president is talking about this as trade issue. in some ways i really strikes me as exactly right. this is sam complaint about the europeans not carrying their fair share of nato, for example. what is going on here. what is interesting he used the word extort. that is what is happening. a country says to the u.s. drugmaker, we won't cover your drug. we won't our citizens have access to your medicine unless you provide us with a much lower
2:27 pm
price. if that was any other product, i think we would call that a unfair trade practice. there are very interesting things going on there. trish: indeed. it is interesting, right? that this is becoming in fact a trade issue dr. jenette? it is all fast nating. how do you lower prices, maintaining competitive enough spirit maintaining industry where companies are rewarded for creating drugs. the it is interesting that the u.s. is the supreme sector, and there is lot of financial reward. if you're starting a drug company overseas, you will not make as much as selling it here in the u.s.? how do you preserve the willingness to invest in research and r&d and not making sure consumers are getting stuck
2:28 pm
with the highest prices in world? >> like the president said, complicated process. that is important as well as transparency. important to note what you're paying for. why are hidden fees. it is important for patients to be informed and aware, they can shop around. they can look for other prices. cheaper prices. they should ask for generics. they should ask for 90-day supply, mail-order pharmacy. unfair to patients and consumers, to not have all the options presented to them. trish: what about that gag rule. >> yeah. trish: that's horrible. the idea, ed, that a pharmacist is not allowed to say, hey, there is coupon for this. maybe if you try buying it from some other place you will get a better deal? >> it is interesting that you
2:29 pm
brought that up because one of the things about this whole issue and the president's package is some things are designed to lower cost of drug themselves. but there are other things designed to be more transparent or less costly to the patient. so, for example, i was reading a study the other week that showed the, there was estimating how many of these insurance plans have co-pays that are higher than the cost of buying the generic drug yourself. trish: oh, my goodness. >> i thought that was very -- that is what you're talking about, that you can't be told that. i thought that was very interesting because i personally have through my employer i pick the health savings account approach. when i get a generic drug refilled, instead of having a $15 co-pay, i pay $8.49 for the drug until i meet my deductible, then the plan pays for it. some of this is not about the
2:30 pm
actual price of the drug. we get to the middleman. what does the patient pay. same thing with specialty drugs. if you see a formulary, this for generic, and branded co-pay, specialty drug, what is specialty drug? often but insurance plans don't say, well, you have a higher copay because it's a specialty operation as opposed to a regular operation. trish: truly we need common sense. say, look, this is what is needed, we need to look out for the american people, we need to look out for dr. janet's patient who is are struggling to get pay for food or drugs this month. that is a tragedy. good to see you both. i do want to point out that drug stocks are moving higher.
2:31 pm
we have a lot of pharmaceutical companies that we are watching right now. can we show charts, let's see if we can get them up for you? we have been watching a number of companies. no, maybe we can save that after the break. there they are, here are some of them, humana, they are all moving higher, you can understand to a certain extent that this is good news for the insurance companies, they may be paying less for the drugs. let's show the drug companies as well. can we do that? okay. we will do that right after the break. there we go. they are all moving higher as well, 1.2. so pretty good reaction as we watched overall the market to move into positive territory right now, up 50 points. president trump meanwhile unveiling his plan to lower drug costs, so is it another campaign promise that he's following through on, how is this going to play out for midterm elections,
2:32 pm
we have intel for you next p of . that's because they have a shield annuity from brighthouse financial, which allows them to take advantage of growth opportunities in up markets, while maintaining a level of protection in down markets. so they're less concerned with market volatility and can focus more on the things they're passionate about. talk with your advisor about shield annuities from brighthouse financial- established by metlife. metastatic breast cancer is relentless, but i'm relentless too. mbc doesn't take a day off, and neither will i. and i treat my mbc with new everyday verzenio-
2:33 pm
the only one of its kind that can be taken every day. in fact, verzenio is a cdk4 & 6 inhibitor for postmenopausal women with hr+, her2- mbc, approved, with hormonal therapy, as an everyday treatment for a relentless disease. verzenio + an ai is proven to help women have significantly more time without disease progression, and more than half of women saw their tumors shrink vs an ai. diarrhea is common, may be severe, and may cause dehydration or infection. before taking verzenio, tell your doctor if you have fever, chills, or other signs of infection. verzenio may cause low white blood cell counts, which may cause serious infection that can lead to death. serious liver problems can occur. symptoms may include tiredness, loss of appetite, stomach pain, and bleeding or bruising more easily than normal. blood clots that can lead to death have also occurred. talk to your doctor right away if you notice pain or swelling in your arms or legs, shortness of breath, chest pain or rapid breathing or heart rate. tell your doctor if you are pregnant, breastfeeding, or plan to become pregnant. common side effects include nausea, infections,
2:34 pm
low red and white blood cells and platelets, decreased appetite, headache, abdominal pain, tiredness, vomiting, and hair thinning or loss. i'm relentless. and my doctor and i choose to treat my mbc with verzenio. be relentless. ask your doctor about everyday verzenio.
2:35 pm
2:36 pm
trish: we just heard from the president of the united states and he is working hard he says to lower prescription drug prices, this has been something that's priority all along. he spoke about it in the rose garden. we are waiting to speak alex azar, he spoke a moment ago. i will go with ed rollins. how important is this? >> this is critical because so many people elder i will have to make choices whether they want to eat or drugs, even with medicare, medicaid there's enormous cost and many they just can't afford it. they can't understand why you can go to canada and get drugs much cheaper than here and obviously the president explained it and former secretary who had on earlier, one of the greatest men ever explained it.
2:37 pm
my sense is very important. i hope we can get it through. it's going to be a battle. trish: why is there a battle? >> vested interests, millions of dollars spent on lobbyists because the issues are complicated and everybody has a vested interest one way or the other and everything is a consequence. this is something that we need to do. trish: you know, i would think it is something we need to do but politically speaking, if he accomplishes this, ed, i mean, you know, i think it's a slam dunk for him for another term, if he accomplishes this because it affects so many people that go out and vote. >> this was the one thing that -- i didn't understand i had worked on health care both when hillary tried to put health care and obama. i didn't realize what a great political strategy obama people had putting obamacare through. it wasn't good medical plan, it was a good political plan follow the sense that it roped a lot of people in the medicaid program
2:38 pm
and this to a certain extent, we need it a revision here, basically lower the cost for people that can't afford. even if you can afford it, when you go to drugstore, 3 to 400-dollar amount bill, that's significant. everybody as we all age get more, more life-saving drugs so my sense is this is a long-term prognosis and we need to basically make sure people are being adequately treated and adequately priced. trish: why hasn't the insurance companies done a better job at negotiating? >> because it works for them. at the end to have day they negotiate, they get paid or they basically jack the rates and this is -- you would think they would be front and center. everybody trades off and the pharmaceutical companies have been a very significant lobbyists and nobody has challenged them like the challenge that's taking place. trish: it's amazing. when you think about it, it makes a lot of sense. why aren't we playing a little
2:39 pm
harder in this sphere? why aren't we challenging these companies to give us better deals, why -- switzerland is good at negotiations. i'm looking at the numbers. >> well, i think what happens is we pay the bulk of the price. most major companies are here. we pay the bulk of the price as the former secretary said on your show today. at the end of the day, americans just assume that's the price and they suffer with it. i think it takes some someone like trump to make a promise, significance promise to change this and promises he's made he's trying to keep. trish: let me ask you about that, do you think that he fundamentally in his heart believes that, that we should have lower drug prices? maybe there might be political component to it, but if you really were to push him on this, is this something that he personally, personally cares about? >> i think he's learn today care about it because he's heard about it from many people.
2:40 pm
i don't think when he started the campaign it was an issue for him. i think it's an issue for him today because he heard from so many people how high the costs were and -- and this is a man who has learned a lot in the year and a half he's been in office. people make fun of the fact that he doesn't have issue papers, he doesn't have advisers, he has a very absorbent mind and he knows when something is a bad deal and he sees that it's a bad deal. consumer is not getting what they deserve and the pharmaceutical companies are making way too much profit on it. trish: yeah, well, they are, he's calling them out in a way -- >> he will push it through. again, he didn't make idle promises, every promise he has made he tried to fulfill and he basically will continue and you want to take him on, pay the consequences. trish: good luck, you will be victimized on twitter if you're the pharmaceutical companies. >> he's not going let go. trish: ed rollins, good to see you. >> have a great weekend.
2:41 pm
trish: markets that's trading higher, what do you know, lower amid the president's plan to unveil -- unveiling of the plan rather for lower prescription drugs but we are now back in positive territory, up 50 points, i have to tell you, drug companies, pharmaceutical companies they are also trading higher right now. so how does this impact really the overall economy, how is it going to impact you the consumer, how is it going to impact these companies and stock portfolio in moodist chief economist is here, he will give us his analysis, that's next. nah. not gonna happen.
2:42 pm
2:43 pm
that's it. i'm calling kohler about their walk-in bath. my name is ken. how may i help you? hi, i'm calling about kohler's walk-in bath. excellent! happy to help. huh? hold one moment please... [ finger snaps ] hmm. the kohler walk-in bath features an extra-wide opening and a low step-in at three inches, which is 25 to 60% lower than some leading competitors. the bath fills and drains quickly, while the heated seat soothes your back, neck and shoulders. kohler is an expert in bathing, so you can count on a deep soaking experience. are you seeing this? the kohler walk-in bath comes with fully adjustable hydrotherapy jets and our exclusive bubblemassage. everything is installed in as little as a day by a kohler-certified installer. and it's made by kohler- america's leading plumbing brand. we need this bath. yes. yes you do. a kohler walk-in bath provides independence with peace of mind.
2:44 pm
"i have antivirus, but my computer's still slow..." "i think it's time for the fixmestick." fixmestick is a plug-in virus removal device. it's the smart, simple way to clean an infected computer, with a whole lot going on inside the stick... [computers sound] "this one got around the antivirus software!" "not a problem." "we're on it." and because it connects to the internet, fixmestick it's always up to date.
2:45 pm
and taking cared abof the boys.e zach! talk to me. it's for the house. i got a job. it's okay. dad took care of us. trish: very strong worpdz from the president earlier touting his new drug plan saying the drug companies are, quote, making a fortune at the expense of american consumers. joining us with his take on the president's plan moody's chief economist. i will start by saying, john, we didn't get a ton of details but he certainly articulated the
2:46 pm
problem which is in his view partly a trade problem, in other words, we are subsidizing the rest of the world? >> yes, we are to some extent. the poor u.s. consumer and u.s. taxpayer is not only subsidizing the rest of the world in terms of what we spend on defense but also what we spend on medicine, mostly because foreign companies get discounts from drug makers that the american consumer doesn't receive and it's not fair and i hope that does change and i congratulate the president for his boldness on particular matter. my surprise that nobody on the past, nobody like president obama did anything about this particular problem. trish: but i think we know why. i mean, i'm surprised too but sadly and this is what he's going to run into it and ed rollins was articulated earlier, there's vested interest in
2:47 pm
keeping the status quo, if you're a politics like president obama and you have politician that is they rely on the democratic party and republican party and i don't think donald trump cares so much about them in that way, they need their money for their campaigns and part of that is, you know, you scratch my back and i scratch yours and there's some kind of deal that's made where nobody is willing to challenge this and say, hey, you know, let's fix it. >> you know, it's not only campaign money but after your president it's also those future speaking fees that president clinton was well compensated for. we can overlook the fact that united states is going through unprecedented demographic change. we are aging rapidly, last year the u.s. government spent $600 billion on medicare, that's approaching what the u.s. government spent on the department of defense, defense
2:48 pm
spending. it's getting close to 950 billion that was spent on social security. it is imperative that the government take efforts to rein in the growth of mandatory spending to rein in the growth of medicare if we are going to avoid a fiscal crisis at some point in the future. so this type of action is long overdue, the government has the cloud the have greater influence over drug prices and it should go ahead and use that cloud. trish: interestingly drug companies stocks are up right now. pharmaceutical companies, health insurers are trading higher. health insurers i kind of get. drug costs come down, they won't have to shell out quite as much but the pharmaceutical companies moving up, that's kind of interesting, john, what do you think is going on there? >> you know, i think part of this is that maybe the pharmaceutical industry sees this coming and they would rather have the republican party
2:49 pm
take the lead as far as trying to hold in drug prices as opposed to the democratic party. this removes some uncertainty, provides some clarity to what the drug industry should expect going forward. trish: and what should it expect >> i think they will see the government try to get rid of the middleman as much as possible as the president indicated. he thinks that by doing so they can lower the price of drugs paid by consumers, they'll probably have changes in regulation that is will try to make it -- prescription drugs to over the counter status more quickly. i looked at the april cpi, month of april prescription drug prices, 2.7% year over year, wow, otc, over the counter drug prices were down two tenths of a
2:50 pm
percent. you can accomplish something like this, you are going to help slow the price growth of medicine. trish: if he get this is done it will be, indeed, historic. john lonski, good to see you, we will be right back. under care by focusing our mind on whatever's on yours. a trip back to the dthe doctor's office, mean just for a shot. but why go back there, when you can stay home, with neulasta onpro? strong chemo can put you at risk of serious infection, which could lead to hospitalizations. in a key study, neulasta reduced the risk of infection from 17% to 1%, a 94% decrease. applied the day of chemo, neulasta onpro is designed to deliver neulasta the next day, so you can stay home. neulasta is for certain cancer patients receiving strong chemotherapy. do not take neulasta if you're allergic to neulasta or neupogen (filgrastim).
2:51 pm
ruptured spleen, sometimes fatal as well as serious lung problems, allergic reactions, kidney injuries, and capillary leak syndrome have occurred. report abdominal or shoulder tip pain, trouble breathing or allergic reactions to your doctor right away. in patients with sickle cell disorders, serious, sometimes fatal crises can occur. the most common side effect is bone and muscle ache. so why go back there? if you'd rather be home, ask your doctor about neulasta onpro. oh hi sweetie, i just want to show you something. xfinity mobile: find my phone.
2:52 pm
[ phone rings ] look at you. this tech stuff is easy. [ whirring sound ] you want a cookie? it's a drone! i know. find your phone easily with the xfinity voice remote. one more way comcast is working to fit into your life, not the other way around. i'm 85 years old in a job where. i have to wear a giant hot dog suit. what? where's that coming from? i don't know. i started my 401k early, i diversified... i'm not a big spender. sounds like you're doing a lot. but i still feel like i'm not gonna have enough for retirement. like there's something else i should be doing. with the right conversation, you might find you're doing okay. so, no hot dog suit? not unless you want to. no. schedule a complimentary goal planning session today with td ameritrade®.
2:53 pm
trish: we are watching right now pharmaceutical and health insurance stocks because they
2:54 pm
are trading higher, all of them, pretty much all of them on the heels of the president's speech, the speech on drug prices an he wants to lower drug prices but investors are taking the news in stride when it comes to pharma companies. nicole petallides is in the floor with more. nicole: let's start with major market averages, s&p and nasdaq in the red, for the week, dow, nasdaq and s&p are all higher by about 2%. we've had a good week here on wall street. the dow is off earlier highs, still holding to 36-point gain, longest winning streak since november 8th, here is a look at some of the winners of the week, exxon and chevron, that's because of the surge that we have seen in oil prices, caterpillar, jpmorgan and then we will get to drugs and health insurers, interesting, we saw them selloff dramatic moves during the president's speech. president trump has been obviously voicing his concerns about that they're ripoff but
2:55 pm
working on ideas and also trade ideas on how to make everything more affordable for american who is pay so much for drugs. back to you. trish: thank you so much, nicole. coming up, everyone, special message, i will see you here.
2:56 pm
2:57 pm
2:58 pm
trish: so i just wanted to wish every mother out there especially my mother a happy mother's day, i hope you have a wonderful weekend.
2:59 pm
i think i have a picture of my mother and my sister, my sister and my mom are both coming into town tomorrow so we will have a wonderful weekend together. my mom has played such an important role as every mother does in my life, in fact, when i was a little kid, i used to go out on -- she was a journalist, i used to go out sometimes field reporting with her when i was really little and can you believe alex azar is going to interrupt this amazing story, i will tell you next week, here he is. [laughter] >> put a frame together for the actions that you'll see in the blueprint and what the president and i talked about today so you have a sense where we are going here. there are four major problems that we face, the first is high-list prices for drugs, the second is government rules that get in the way of plans getting good deals for our senior citizens in our medicare program. the third is foreign countries free-riding off of american
3:00 pm
innovation and the fourth is high out of pocket costs especially for seniors. so as you heard from the president today, this administration has already made a lot of progress in this regard. in the first year and a half in office -- ever before in history saving $8.8 billion in the first year. on the drugs that they buy each year. that work and the work that we are laying out now in the president's blueprint, it's focused on four strategies to help fix the complex problem. first, increase competition, second increase in better negotiation, third, incentives to actually lower list prices and fourth lowering out of pocket costs. first, it's crucial that we have more competition in the prescription drug markets.

54 Views

info Stream Only

Uploaded by TV Archive on