KCK pharmacist hopeful as Trump targets prescription drug prices
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (KCTV) - A new executive order could make prescription drugs more affordable.
President Donald Trump signed an executive order Monday directing pharmaceutical companies to lower their costs within 30 days or risk federal action. The order seeks to make drug prices in the United States comparable to those in other countries, which often pay significantly less for the same medications.
Local pharmacists say they are hopeful, though cautiously optimistic.
“Unfortunately right now, it sounds good on paper but until it actually is enacted, we just have to wait and see,” said Daniel Reiff, owner of The Medicine Shoppe in KCK.
Reiff said the financial strain is real for his customers and many are forced to make difficult decisions. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, taxpayers paid hundreds of billions of dollars on prescription drugs annually through Medicare which is offered to seniors 65 years and older.
Another 80 million low-income and disabled people rely on Medicaid and spend tens of billions of dollars on drugs a year.
“Especially our customers have to choose between going to the grocery store or getting their prescription drugs, and obviously the price is just going up on everything,” he said.
Reiff has ed pharmacists nationwide in advocating for lower prescription drug costs. He said lower costs would also allow him to stock his shelves for less, benefitting both pharmacists and customers alike.
“You can’t get a brand-name prescription drug for under $200. It’'s really ridiculous,” he said.
In many cases, he noted, alternative options for prescriptions are not available, leaving customers with few choices and high out-of-pocket costs.
“It’s affordable, but it’s not easy when you don’t have money,” said customer Carrie Crosthwait, who visits the pharmacy every 30 days to pick up diabetes and heart medications through private insurance.
She hopes the order will extend help to working-class Americans, not just those covered by government programs.
“I think that they need to really help people in my position more than the Medicare and Medicaid,” Crosthwait said. “We need the help more than they do because they’ve probably got more money than we do.”
Reiff said he hopes lawmakers will reach a solution that works for everyone.
“I think the number one thing is probably education,” he said. “Knowing where everybody stands, where everybody wants to be, and hopefully getting to that point where we can lower the prices.”
If drugmakers fail to reduce prices, the Trump istration has threatened to impose caps on what the companies can charge to earn profit from Medicare.
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