Economists are worried about Trump's healthcare plan that could be very 'damaging'
President Donald Trump's policies have naturally faced criticism from the Democratic Party and have even affected his ratings. But in some cases, even people from his own party find it hard to defend him. Trump has spoken a lot about how the US healthcare system is in dire need of a revamp. However, some of his policies that affect the healthcare sector are drawing flak not just from independent economists, but also from people who are seemingly aligned with his party. The President has been a big supporter of citizens getting medicines at affordable rates, but the way he is going to make that possible might not go down well with many.
According to a report in Raw Story, the President wants to formulate a federal price cap for medication, so that companies are prevented from charging sky-high prices. That seems like a sound policy on paper, but there are a lot of things to consider when it comes to such matters. Trump called his plan TrumpRX, and said that he would use $150 billion in new investments from nine drug companies and a process to convince consumers to buy lower-priced drugs directly from manufacturers.
The problem with this is that it would raise costs in other areas of the supply chain, in which case, someone always has to bear the financial burden. Experts even believe that this policy will be the reason why US citizens will experience less of the “crown jewel” of the country’s healthcare system. It does not seem like the President or any of his associates thought this one through.
"At the most basic level, government price setting only limits what patients pay for a drug — usually reflected in an out-of-pocket or co-insurance payment," Michael Baker, director of healthcare policy at the American Action Forum, said, before explaining, "This does nothing to address the overall cost of the drug, which someone still has to pay, nor does it lower the cost associated with development. Patients will experience far less of the crown jewel of the U.S. healthcare system that they are currently accustomed to receiving.”
Economists from the Heritage Foundation, which is an organization aligned with the President, also criticised this policy. "The kind of government price controls that are most damaging to innovation are ones that limit the initial price a company can charge for a new product. That is the situation in some countries, but fortunately not yet in the United States," Ed Haislmaier, an expert in healthcare policy and markets at The Heritage Foundation, said.
A different report by Raw Story states that there are many who are questioning the legality of this policy. The President said that his scheme would allow Americans to purchase medicines at discounted prices from a direct-to-consumer website. However, this might also end up infringing on people’s privacy.
"But here is the real catch: privacy... in order to use this site you'd have to tell the government exactly what medications you take, what conditions you have, when you refill them, everything about yourself, including your medical history, it could be mental health meds, HIV meds, reproductive health meds — everything tied to your name," Eliza Orlins, a public defender and former Manhattan DA candidate explained.
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