America's seniors lost out on $150 million in prescription drug cost relief after President Donald Trump's "botched drug deal" over a demand for $100 "Trump Cards" be mailed to seniors before the election.
"After months of heated accusations and painstaking negotiations, the White House and the pharmaceutical industry neared agreement late last month on a plan to make good on President Trump’s longstanding promise to lower drug prices. The drug companies would spend $150 billion to address out-of-pocket consumer costs and would even pick up the bulk of the co-payments that older Americans shoulder in Medicare’s prescription drug program," The New York Timesreported Saturday.
"Then the agreement collapsed. The breaking point, according to four people familiar with the discussions: Mark Meadows, Mr. Trump’s chief of staff, insisted the drug makers pay for $100 cash cards that would be mailed to seniors before November — 'Trump Cards,' some in the industry called them," the newspaper reported. "Some of the drugmakers bridled at being party to what they feared would be seen as an 11th-hour political boost for Mr. Trump, the people familiar with the matter said."
The White House was blasted for the collapse of negotiations. Here's some of what people were saying: