The president claims his policies are working, pointing to a $26 billion decline in generic drug prices. But that’s not the whole story. (Meg Kelly/The Washington Post)
“Drug prices declined in 2018, the first time in nearly half a century. During the first 19 months of my Administration, Americans saved $26 Billion on prescription drugs. Our policies to get cheaper generic drugs to market are working!”
— President Trump, in a tweet, Jan. 11, 2019
This is an interesting tweet by the president because it can be read two ways — either the sentences are distinct statements or they are intended to flow together to make one point.
The consumer price index for prescription drugs fell by 0.6 percent in 2018, the first time in 46 years and only the second time since the government began keeping track in 1970. Prices had risen nearly 3 percent in 2017 and 6.2 percent in 2016. (We will lay aside an academic debate about whether the CPI for prescription drugs actually measures changes with enough accuracy.)
View the complete January 16 article by Glenn Kessler on The Washington Post website here.