Trump health secretary pushes back against Medicare drug negotiation

The Hill: President Trump’s health secretary pushed back Monday at critics who said Trump’s drug pricing plan moved away from his campaign pledge of having Medicare negotiate drug prices.

Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar dismissed the idea — backed by many Democrats — that Medicare can save money by negotiating directly with drug companies.

“The only way that direct negotiation saves money is by doing something this administration does not believe in: denying access to certain medicines for all Medicare beneficiaries, or setting prices for drugs by government fiat,” Azar said in a speech at HHS headquarters.

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