Trump thanks Novartis, Pfizer for not hiking drug prices

President Trump once again honed in on the high cost of U.S. prescription drugs on Thursday morning, praising Novartis and Pfizer for their recent decisions not to raise prices.

Swiss drugmaker Novartis said on Tuesday it would not raise prices on its U.S. products for the remainder of the year, following a similar move by Pfizer the week prior. The announcements came after Trump slammed big pharmaceutical companies – and Pfizer specifically – in a Twitter post, saying they should be “ashamed” and “are merely taking advantage of poor [and] others unable to defend themselves.” He also threatened that the administration would “respond.”

Pfizer was expected to raise the cost of its U.S. products by as much as 10%.

The Trump administration released a proposal to lower the cost of prescription drug prices, but the provisions have yet to go into effect.

In an effort to save small businesses and patients money, the administration unveiled a new rule last month that expanded the ability of businesses to use association health plans, which will make it easier for them to join together and buy health insurance while claiming the same federal exemption from insurance regulation enjoyed by larger businesses.