What They Are Saying: Candidates Talk Rx Pricing on the Campaign Trail

Unsustainable drug pricing has been a hot issue on the 2016 election campaign trail. Candidates on both sides of the aisle are talking about the harmful impact these price tags have on Americans and the facts have been proven time after time: prescription drugs prices are simply out of control.

It is clear that exorbitant drug prices not only threaten treatment access for millions of patients nationwide, but also put a significant strain on public programs, state budgets, and consumers in need.

See what the 2016 presidential candidates have been saying about sky-high drug prices on the campaign trail.

Hillary Clinton (Reno, NV): “We particularly have to tackle prescription drug costs, which have gone up so quickly… Right now, they (drug companies) spend more money advertising than creating new drugs and new treatments.” Watch the video

Marco Rubio (Des Moines, IA): “Some companies are the only ones that offer a drug that cures something, so they can charge you whatever you want.” Watch the video

Jeb Bush (Des Moines, IA): “If you could shrink the amount of time it takes for new drugs to get on the market, lower in half – make the price in half, you’d see a reduction.” Watch the video

John Kasich (Columbia, SC): “We can’t drag our feet. When a new drug comes out, and it’s a breakthrough drug, the single biggest way to get those prices down is to make sure we get a competitor in the marketplace.” Watch the video

Rand Paul (Raymond, NH): “Almost all the parts of the economy that have clear cut competition and an open marketplace, where an individual pays for something, the prices have been down.” Watch the video

Ted Cruz (Des Moines, IA): “Part of the reason prescription prices are so expensive is it can cost over a billion dollars to take a drug to the marketplace because of the federal regulatory barriers. We need to reduce those barriers and have a lot more competition.” Watch the video

Chris Christie (Des Moines, IA): “The more the market’s broadened, the more competition there’s going to be, the more price pressure it will on drugs.” Watch the video

Mike Huckabee (Des Moines, IA): “Frankly, I’m not saying the drug companies are off the hook because they make a huge amount of profit and they have certainly wetted the beaks of people in DC.” Watch the video

Lindsey Graham (Des Moines, IA): “We need to get generics out on the market sooner, patent reform so that you can buy the generic form, more competition.” Watch the video