“It’s time to end the global freeloading once and for all,” President Trump said. “I have directed U.S. Trade Representative Bob Lighthizer to make fixing this injustice a top priority with every trading partner.”
One proposal President Trump campaigned on – giving the federal government the power to directly negotiate for drug prices – was not included in the plan.
“I am very disappointed that he has apparently dropped his support for allowing Medicare to negotiate the price of prescription drugs,” Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) said in a statement.
Also absent from the plan: a direct negotiation tactic for Part B drugs supported by Mr. Azar during his confirmation hearings.