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Speaker 1: Welcome to Wellness on Mass. I'm doctor Nicole Sapphire, Board

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Speaker 1: certified physician, mom and forever truth seeker, and this is

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Speaker 1: your weekly rundown. Well, it's been a big week in

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Speaker 1: the world of health policy, and today I want to

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Speaker 1: break down one of the biggest headlines that could directly

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Speaker 1: affect your family's health but also your pocketbook. President Trump

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Speaker 1: is once again putting drug pricing front and center. On Monday,

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Speaker 1: he announced a renewed push to lower prescription medication through

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Speaker 1: an executive order that aims to reduce high prescription drug pricing.

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Speaker 1: So what does it mean. Well, we don't exactly know

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Speaker 1: the details yet, but here's what I do know. President

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Speaker 1: Trump's initiative to lower drug prices is a long overduy

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Speaker 1: step towards putting patients before profits. For too long, Americans

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Speaker 1: have paid the highest prices in the world for medications,

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Speaker 1: often having to choose between prescriptions and groceries. As a physician,

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Speaker 1: I've seen patients delay treatment, sometimes with tragic consequences, all

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Speaker 1: because of cost. So whether you agree with the politics

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Speaker 1: or not, the conversation around drug affordability is one we

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Speaker 1: desperately need, and it seems we're having it again now,

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Speaker 1: I say again, because this idea isn't new. Trump first

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Speaker 1: introduced a version of this policy in twenty twenty, but

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Speaker 1: it faced pushback from pharmaceutical companies and was tangled up

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Speaker 1: in litigation, and let's be honest, Biden didn't continue the efforts.

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Speaker 1: This renewed commitment could actually reignite that battle. The new plan, however,

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Speaker 1: is much wider with what I see are two main

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Speaker 1: focus points, the first one being ensuring Americans are not

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Speaker 1: paying more than other developed nations for their drugs. This

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Speaker 1: is the Most Favored Nation rule, which seeks to align

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Speaker 1: US drug pricing with what other developed nations pay, holding

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Speaker 1: pharmaceutical companies accountable for excessive markups to Americans. The second

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Speaker 1: focus point is it also encourages increasing price transparency, allowing

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Speaker 1: patients to see what drugs actually cost before they reach

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Speaker 1: the pharmacy counter, and looking into importing drugs from foreign

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Speaker 1: countries where they are sold at lower pricing, alsoing out

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Speaker 1: the middlemen, the pharmacy benefit managers and even in some

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Speaker 1: cases the insurance companies. But what exactly is covered by

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Speaker 1: those terms, It's really unclear, as is the question of

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Speaker 1: what measures the White House would take if unreasonable practices

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Speaker 1: are discovered, that's still to be determined. The pharmaceutical lobby

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Speaker 1: and even some economists argue that linking pricing to foreign

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Speaker 1: markets could stifle innovation. But on the other hand, many

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Speaker 1: Americans continue to ration medications or skip their prescriptions entirely

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Speaker 1: because they simply can't afford them. So what's the takeaway

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Speaker 1: from this? The plan will face challenges from the pharmaceutical industry, undoubtedly,

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Speaker 1: but it also underscores the need for bipartisan, long term

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Speaker 1: strategies that balance affordability with continued medical advancement. We need

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Speaker 1: something to last beyond an administration. Americans deserve better. Thanks

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Speaker 1: for tuning in to Wellness unmass on your weekly rundown

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Speaker 1: on America's number one podcast network, iHeart. Follow Wellness Unmasks

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Speaker 1: with doctor Nicole Sapphire and start listening on the free

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Speaker 1: iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts,

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Speaker 1: and we'll catch you next time.