Trump Administration's 3 Biggest Ideas For Lowering Drug Prices
After criticism that the administration's blueprint for drug prices was vague, the secretary of health and human services zeroed in on actions that he said need only his signature.
Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar has this pen. It's not all that remarkable looking, but he held it up multiple times Monday at a briefing with reporters.
"This pen," he said, "has a lot of power."
And he said he is prepared to use it.
Azar was making the point that in the area of drug prices, the head of HHS — which runs the Medicare and Medicaid programs and buys about $130 billion in prescription drugs each year — can make a lot of changes in the pharmaceutical market. And he doesn't need congressional approval
