FILE - In this March 13, 2019, file phtooHealth and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar testifies before a House Appropriations subcommittee on Capitol Hill in Washington. Azar says drugmakers will soon have to reveal prices of their prescription medicines in those ever-present TV ads. The Trump administration will issue final regulations on May 8 requiring drug companies to disclose list prices of medications costing more than $35 for a month’s supply. Azar tells The Associated Press if drugmakers are scared to put prices in ads that means they should lower those prices. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)
HHS Secretary Azar: Drug companies gouging patients with high prices – By OAN Newsroom (OANN) / May 9 2019
The secretary of Health and Human Services is calling out drug companies over the prices of their products as President Trump works to make drug prices more transparent.
In an interview Thursday, the Secretary Alex Azar said inflated drug prices are not the result of recovering costs. He said patients are still being gouged at the pharmacy counter.
Azar questioned when a patient should be seeing the price — at the point of advertisement or seeing the “sticker shock” at the pharmacy? He said there was no need for prices to increase as much as 20-percent every year.
FILE – In this March 13, 2019, file phtooHealth and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar testifies before a House Appropriations subcommittee on Capitol Hill in Washington. Azar says drugmakers will soon have to reveal prices of their prescription medicines in those ever-present TV ads. The Trump administration will issue final regulations on May 8 requiring drug companies to disclose list prices of medications costing more than $35 for a month’s supply. Azar tells The Associated Press if drugmakers are scared to put prices in ads that means they should lower those prices. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)
“If the drug companies are embarrassed or afraid that patients will be scared off by their drug prices, reduce your prices — it’s that simple,” stated Azar.
His comments come as the Trump administration announced drugmakers must begin listing their prices in TV commercials starting in July.
