Trump urges drugmakers to accept lower prices on prescriptions, Bloomberg says

President Donald Trump is pressing congressional Republicans to force drugmakers to accept lower prices on prescriptions covered by Medicaid, similar to prices charged in certain foreign countries, a strategy that could potentially ease the issue of cutting hundreds of billions of dollars in government spending to fund tax cuts, but risks antagonizing the pharmaceutical industry, Bloomberg’s Rachel Cohrs Zhang reports. The proposal is a new one and faces obstacles, including drafting legislation and getting it cleared by budget analysts, as well as opposition from conservative Republicans who view it as “socialist price controls,” according to the report. Publicly traded companies in the space include AstraZeneca (AZN), Bristol Myers (BMY), Eli Lilly (LLY), GSK (GSK), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Merck (MRK), Novartis (NVS), Pfizer (PFE), Roche (RHHBY) and Sanofi (SNY).