Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton proposed on Tuesday a $250 monthly cap on out-of-pocket prescription drug costs and other measures to stop what she called “price gouging” by pharmaceutical companies.
At a campaign stop in Iowa, Clinton rolled out a plan to encourage the development and use of generic drugs and to end pharmaceutical companies’ ability to write off consumer-directed advertising as a business expense.
Under Clinton’s plan, the monthly cap would limit what insurance companies could ask patients to pay for drugs that treat chronic or serious medical conditions.
“We need to protect hard-working Americans here at home from excessive costs. Too often these drugs cost a fortune,” she said in Des Moines, adding drug companies keep the profits for themselves while “shifting the cost to families.”
Clinton’s comments came after the New York Times reported on how a startup biotechnology company, Turing Pharmaceuticals, raised the price of the 62-year-old Daraprim treatment for a dangerous parasitic infection to $750 a tablet from $13.50 after acquiring it.
“That is bad actors making a fortune off people’s misfortune,” she said.
In the face of sharp criticism of its action by patients, medical groups and Clinton, Turing’s chief executive officer, Martin Shkreli, said late Tuesday that the price of Daraprim would be lowered “to a point that is more affordable.”
