WASHINGTON – A financial analyst is praising President Trump’s efforts to lower prescription drug prices, and to keep a supplemental nutrition program running for women and children during the government shutdown.
The Trump administration reached an agreement with AstraZeneca, which will drop prices in exchange for a three-year break from tariffs on its US drug imports.
The pharmaceutical giant is the second company to sign on to such a deal, following the lead of Pfizer.
“This is exciting news,” Landmark Capital CEO David Fischer told The Flag on Tuesday.
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Fischer says some 100,000 patients will now save as much as 80% on prescription drug prices.
“For decades, we’ve been paying 80% and higher that other countries for the same exact drug that’s manufactured at the same plant and Americans are ‘taking it in the short’,” said Fischer.
The reduced drug prices will be offered through a federal government website called ‘Trump Rx’ which is set to launch next year.
“It’s just a website that will take out the middle man,” said Fischer. “The person that needs a pill that has a prescription can go directly to the manufacturer and bypass the red tape.”
Trump also announced $100 million in funding will be injected into the Women, Infants and Children Nutrition Program, known as ‘WIC’ for short.
Critics of the government shutdown worried that WIC would have to stop offering services during the shutdown.
Fischer says Trump was able to use funding from tariff revenues to keep it afloat “because the law permits a President and his administration to transfer money to other programs” without congressional approval.
