Trump's drug plan falls flat in health care messaging war
By DAN DIAMOND 10/25/2018 06:25 PM EDT
President Donald Trump tried Thursday to make good on a campaign vow to lower drug prices — attacking “foreign freeloaders” and proposing significant changes to how Medicare pays for many drugs. But his populist proposal didn’t appear likely to budge the national debate around health care, just days ahead of the midterm elections.
Early indications are that it won’t be an immediate game changer — it’s too wonky for Republicans playing defense in local races, it gave Democrats a fresh opportunity to slam the administration‘s attacks on patient protections and it won’t help most voters pay less for prescriptions at local pharmacies.
To date, Democrats have dominated the health care air wars, running hundreds of thousands of TV ads that hammer Trump and Republicans on their efforts to repeal Obamacare and strike down protections for patients with pre-existing conditions. As of last week, Democrats had an 18 point advantage among voters on health care compared to Republicans, according to a Washington Post/ABC News poll.
Determined to counter that messaging, the White House held a summit on Wednesday to celebrate its work combating the opioid crisis before orchestrating Trump’s speech on drug prices on Thursday.
But Trump’s attempt to strengthen Republicans’ messaging on health care may even have backfired, as Democrats quickly reminded voters that the GOP’s worked to weaken the Affordable Care Act’s patient protections. “Trump is promoting insurance policies that aren’t required to cover any prescription drugs,” said Andy Slavitt, who ran Medicare under President Barack Obama.
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https://www.politico.com/story/2018/10/25/trumps-drug-plan-health-care-891878
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