Washington, Aug 15 (IANS) US President Donald Trump has placed falling prescription medicine prices at the centre of the Republican campaign for the midterm elections, claiming that his most-favoured-nation policy is delivering the largest reductions in American history.
Speaking in Garden City, New York, Trump said the policy had lowered healthcare costs and could by itself help Republicans win the congressional elections.
“Under my most favored nation policy on drug prices, we are delivering the largest prescription drug price cuts in the history of our country by far, with price differences of 400, 500 and even 600 percent,” Trump said.
“And the headline in most of the papers this morning was the largest drug price decrease in 65 years,” he added.
Trump did not identify the medicines covered by the reductions or provide detailed figures showing how much American patients were paying before and after the policy took effect.
The president argued that the political importance of the issue extended beyond the direct cost of prescription medicines.
“And that alone should win us the midterms, really, that alone because that reduces health care, reduces everything,” he said.
Trump said Americans had for decades paid more for prescription medicines than patients in other countries. He claimed the United States had now moved from having the world’s highest prices to its lowest.
“For decades, Americans pay the highest prices for prescription drugs,” Trump said. “We paid more for prescription drugs than anywhere in the world, and now we pay the lowest price anywhere in the world for prescription drugs.”
He said his administration had secured the reductions by pressing other countries to accept higher prices. Trump claimed that he used the threat of tariffs during those negotiations.
“You know why? If they weren’t going to do it, I said, I’m going to raise tariffs on you. I’m going to put 100 percent tariff, it’s going to be 10 times more,” he said.
“They had to double their prices in order for us to get the reduction,” Trump added. “But think of that, 400, 500, 600 percent. We should win the midterms on that alone.”
Trump made the healthcare argument during a broader political address that covered crime, immigration, Iran, the economy and the congressional elections. He urged voters to support Republicans and repeatedly warned that Democratic policies would increase costs and weaken public safety.
--IANS
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