“You know, we’ve cut drug prices by 1,200, 1,300 and 1,400, 1,500 percent.” – President Trump, Aug. 10, 2025.
By Jack Bernard, contributing columnist
PEACHTREE CITY, Ga. | Sure, you have. And all patriotic Americans also want to thank you for ending Russia’s war on the Ukraine and achieving permanent peace throughout the world.
Although I wish it were true, Trump’s statement is obviously completely, 100 percent false (what a surprise). However, as is so often true with Trump, his statement is entertaining… and correctly recognizes that there is a big healthcare problem that should have been addressed long ago.
On a more serious note, we do have the highest drug prices in the world. Per the prior administration, “…our prices average nearly three times what is found in other developed nations”.
I worked as vice president of development for the second largest private healthcare group purchasing organization in the nation, buying billions of pharmaceuticals annually. We had pricing that was 20 percent lower than what the largest hospital systems could negotiate on their own. But, after extensive analysis of the pricing in four Canadian provinces, I gave up trying to beat their pricing. They just laughed at the situation, including the misperception of everyday Americans that our healthcare system is superior to theirs. It clearly is not.
The game is rigged, with the United States being the inevitable loser. If they were truly patriots and had the desire to help our nation, our political leaders…both Democrats and Republicans...could do more than just talk about solving the situation.
Drug companies say they need to charge more to fund research. But much of that research is funded by the federal government. Plus, even if Big Pharma develops drugs on its own, through higher pricing, we are funding drug research for the rest of the developed world. Those wealthy countries are obviously not paying their share.
In the meantime, family earnings that could be going for other household expenses (like improved housing and education are instead going to line the pockets of pharmaceutical executives who are making outrageous amounts of money. Can you guess how much? The top 10 pharmas’ profits range from $287 million a year (Ugur Sahin) to a meager $19 million annually (Chris Boerner).
Democrats, Republicans and Independents, we are all paying for those outrageous salaries! Our two political parties can agree on almost nothing. But there is bipartisan agreement on taking contributions from Big Pharma, which has been buying off (with political contributions) the leaders of both parties for many decades. Per Open Secrets, they list the politicians who received the most in the last election cycle (2023-24).
“You have to have the courage to do what’s right.” That was Kamala Harris, who got over $8.6 million from Big Pharma.
“I will fight for you with every breath in my body,” said President Trump, who got a mere $1.5 million. Three politicos, Democratic Senators Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, and Jon Tester of Montana, plus GOP Rep. Brette Guthrie of Kentucky, got over a half million from Pharma. Among the next 15 were members of both parties (nine Democrats and six Republicans), getting from a quarter million to a bit less than a half million dollars.
There are numerous ways to bring down the cost of drugs. However, until we have drastic reform of our campaign financing system, I doubt the situation will ever improve. Wouldn’t it be revolutionary to hear national leaders of either party promoting that Big Pharma needed to substantially lower drug prices!
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