It’s no secret that the Trump administration has fostered a culture of corruption in which special interests and big donors advance their interests at the expense of everyday people. Perhaps no policy area exemplifies this corruption more than the issue of drug pricing.

President Trump has long promised to stand up to the pharmaceutical industry and lower prescription drug prices, but he has avoided taking serious action to drive down prices while at the same time filling top spots in his administration with industry insiders. This administration’s culture of corruption, which continues a decadeslong practice of political pandering to the pharmaceutical industry, carries a real cost; Americans spent $535 billion¹ on prescription drugs in 2018, an increase of 50 percent since 2010. These price increases far surpass inflation, with Big Pharma increasing prices on its most-prescribed medications by anywhere from 40 percent to 71 percent from 2011 to 2015.²

Moreover, pharmaceutical companies receive substantial U.S. government assistance in the form of publicly funded basic research and tax breaks, yet they continue to charge exorbitant prices for medications. But the issue goes beyond cost. In America, more than 1 million individuals suffer from Type 1 diabetes³, a condition where the body cannot make insulin, which is essential for getting glucose (also known as blood sugar) into cells from the bloodstream. Without insulin, glucose accumulates in the bloodstream⁴, causing dangerously high blood sugar levels. Among all Americans suffering from diabetes, at least 1 in 4⁵ have said that they engaged in insulin rationing—a tactic of using less insulin than is needed in order to make the doses last longer—as a direct result of the skyrocketing price of the drug. A vial of insulin, which is the only life-sustaining option for Type 1 diabetics, retails at  around $300.⁶ A 2018 study commissioned by the Congressional Diabetes Caucus found that the price of insulin has doubled since 2012⁷; in the 10 years prior, the price of insulin nearly tripled. Despite the dangers of insulin rationing, which can lead to diabetic ketoacidosis, a fatal condition, many Americans have no other choice. That was the case for Antroinette⁸, whose daughter was rationing insulin due to the high cost and died at the age of 22 as a result.

American taxpayers fund basic research

Billions of taxpayer dollars go into the creation and marketing¹⁶ of new drugs. The Los Angeles Times reports that, “Since the 1930s, the National Institutes of Health has invested close to $900¹⁷ billion in the basic and applied research that formed both the pharmaceutical and biotechnology sectors.” Despite taxpayers’ crucial investment, U.S. consumers are increasingly paying more for their prescription drugs.

A 2018 study¹⁸ on the National Institute of Health’s (NIH) financial contributions to new drug approvals found that the agency “contributed to published research associated with every one of the 210 new drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration from 2010–2016.” More than $100 billion in NIH funding went toward research that contributed directly or indirectly to the 210 drugs approved during that six-year period. The NIH Research Project Grant (R01)¹⁹—which supports health-related research—was by far the most common kind of grant used to fund the science that supported the new drugs. In all, NIH gave out nearly 118,000²⁰ R01 grants related to those drugs from 2010 to 2016.

Federal perks for Big Pharma add up

Pharmaceutical companies also benefit from research and development tax credits. The federal R&D tax credit was first introduced in 1981 to encourage private sector investment in pioneering research.²¹ This tax credit is available to businesses that attempt to develop new, improved, or technologically advanced products or trade processes.²² In 2015, former President Barack Obama signed into law the Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act²³, which made these tax credits permanent and extended them to small businesses and startup companies.

Pharmaceutical industries also receive a tax deduction for their marketing and advertising expenses. According to a report in the Journal of the American Medical Association, “From 1997 through 2016, medical marketing expanded substantially, and spending increased from $17.7 to $29.9 billion,²⁴ with direct-to-consumer advertising for prescription drugs and health services accounting for the most rapid growth, and pharmaceutical marketing to health professionals accounting for most promotional spending.” The report also found that from 1997 through 2016, “the number of advertisements … increased from 79,000 (including 72,000 television commercials) in 1997 to 4.6 million (663,000 television²⁵ commercials) in 2016.”

Big Pharma’s drug pricing maximizes profits

Despite these taxpayer subsidies, prescription drug prices are nonetheless increasing at an alarming rate. In 2019, price increases from drug manufacturers affected more than 3,400²⁶ drugs. For example, Allergan, a major pharmaceutical manufacturer, raised prices on 51 drugs, just more than half its portfolio. Some medications that Allergan manufactures saw a 9.5 percent jump in cost, while others saw a 4.9 percent increase in cost.²⁷ Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd., the large