In late May, President Trump announced that, within two weeks, major pharmaceutical companies would agree to large, voluntary price concessions. Restraining drug prices was a major theme of Trump's campaign for the presidency, so it is not surprising that he is eager for some prominent drug manufacturers to publicly signal plans for price restraint, for which he will then claim credit.
Trump isn't the first president to pressure drug companies on their prices. Bill Clinton campaigned on ending pharmaceutical “price gouging.” Once in office in 1993, he and First Lady Hillary Clinton proposed limits on drug price inflation in their health reform plan. They also wanted to create an independent panel to oversee the industry's pricing decisions.
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