Here we go again. With no evidence yet about its safety or efficacy, President Trump is claiming that the treatment that he was administered at the hospital is a ‘cure’ for COVID.
As in the case with hydroxychloroquine earlier this year, Trump is once again promoting an experimental medicine without any regard for the consequences to patients. It’s hard to take Trump’s endorsement of Regeneron’s treatment seriously when he and his friends are poised to profit. After Trump praised the latest supposed COVID ‘cure’, the stocks of Regeneron, which is run by a golfing buddy, soared.
“Over 200,000 Americans are dead and more than 30 in Trump’s immediate orbit sickened because of a virus this President refuses to take seriously. Last night’s political stunt from the People’s House was yet another reminder that President Trump and his inner circle are only looking out for themselves, not the American people.
“Building on the important work started by the late Chairman Elijah Cummings, the House Oversight Committee’s hearings this week exposed egregious price-gouging by pharmaceutical corporations that for too long have padded their profits at the expense of patients. So long as pharmaceutical corporations have monopoly control to charge whatever they want for prescription drugs, they will continue to gouge Americans for the medicines they rely on. Today, Americans pay more for our prescription drugs than people in other nations. Millions of Americans are forced to ration or go without basic life-saving drugs.
“In the middle of a crisis that has needlessly cost millions their jobs — and hundreds of thousands their lives — Republicans are dead set on taking away access to affordable healthcare and consumer protections so they can give more tax breaks to pharmaceutical corporations.
“Just like just about everything else he has said over the last five years, Donald Trump’s claims on lowering drug prices in last night’s debate, particularly his outrageous claim about insulin, were nothing but spin and lies. Calling insulin ‘cheap as water’ reveals just how out of touch this President is with the millions of Americans who must continue to ration critical medicines every single day because of Trump’s failure to follow through on his promises to hold Big Pharma accountable and lower drug prices.
Drug corporations continue to raise drug prices to pad their profits, putting medicine out of reach for millions — even in the middle of a global pandemic that has claimed millions of people’s jobs, health care and over 200,000 American lives. In just the last six months alone, Big Pharma companies raised the prices of more than 850 drugs. The price of prescription drugs is increasing faster than any other medical good or service. Despite empty promises from President Trump and Republicans to lower prices, this Administration has done nothing to rein in Big Pharma’s monopoly control to charge patients ever higher prices for the medications they desperately need.
Yet again, President Trump is trying to bribe his way to re-election. Sending $200 gift cards to seniors before the election is a poor substitute for continuing to let drug corporations jack up their medicine prices afterwards.
