How ‘Trump cards’ undid a drug pricing deal

The Trump administration was on the cusp of finalizing a deal that could have helped lower drug prices. The plan involved drug makers spending $150 billion to help reduce consumer out-of-pocket costs — and cover the copays of Medicare beneficiaries. But the agreement collapsed, the New York Times reports, because of the White House’s insistence on doling out what were casually dubbed “Trump cards.”

The vouchers were meant to be $100 cash cards that would be mailed to seniors before November. White House officials insisted they wouldn’t have put Trump’s name on the cards, but the drug industry still balked — worrying this would be perceived as a last-ditch political effort to get Trump reelected.

“We could not agree to the administration’s plan to issue one-time savings cards right before a presidential election,” a PhRMA rep told the NYT. “One-time savings cards will neither provide lasting help, nor advance the fundamental reforms necessary to help seniors better afford their medicines.”