The cost of medication is about to skyrocket thanks to Trump

Schwartzreport · one year ago · 62 views

Emily Singer,  Staff Writer  -  Daily KosStephan: Like many of you, I take several medications, and I can already see the price of drugs escalating. But as I have stood in line at the pharmacy -- we only have one for 28,000 people, so there is always a line -- I have listened and seen people decline to take their prescription because it was so expensive they couldn't afford to buy it. I always wonder what do you do in that kind of situation. That's why a few days ago I published some recommendations about what to do. What I had not realized was how many drugs are imported, and how Trump's tariffs are making this cost increase even worse. “This will only hurt a little” Cartoon by Jack Ohman President Donald Trump’s crap sandwich of a trade “deal” with Europe is about to make the cost of some of the most popular and lifesaving drugs skyrocket—the latest negative consequence of Trump’s nonsensical tariff policy. The “deal” Trump announced with Europe on Sunday puts a 15% tariff on pharmaceuticals imported into the United States from the European Union, which Reuters reported could cost pharmaceutical companies as much as $19 billion. Those tariffs will cut into drugmakers’ profits, which experts say will cause those same drug manufacturers to pass those costs on to Americans. And that will lead insurance companies to either raise prices for everyone in the form of higher insurance premiums, or for individuals who purchase the affected drugs when they pick them up from the pharmacy. Medicare and Medicaid—already facing pressure amid draconian Republican cuts—will also be hit, as the millions of Americans covered by those government health insurance programs also use the drugs that now face new and destructive tariffs. “The big picture is: The cost of imported [...]