President Donald Trump's administration should address prescription drug prices in international trade negotiations, Ken Davis, MD, president and CEO of New York City-based Mount Sinai Health System, told CNBC.
Dr. Davis argues it is unfair that Americans pay high prices for prescription drugs while foreign governments subsidize costs for their consumers to receive the same drugs for significantly less.
"Americans wind up paying much more for our drugs than anywhere else in the world. The rest of the world controls their prices; the U.S., it's a free market," Dr. Davis told CNBC. "Essentially the U.S. is underwriting the research and development costs that happen for the rest of the world. This is a trade issue. This is a fair trade issue, and we have to bring it up in trade negotiations."
Dr. Davis says President Trump should encourage drug companies to raise international prices on drugs, though he added that it’s not guaranteed that those companies would pass the savings along to U.S. consumers.