Trump budget request claims $135B in drug savings, calls for NIH cut that won’t happen, flatlines FDA

President Donald Trump’s FY21 budget includes provisions the administration says will save $135 billion in drug costs over 10 years. The White House recycled ideas it has proposed over the last two years but did not spell out how the savings would be achieved. The proposals include giving the HHS secretary authority to switch Medicare drug coverage from Part B to Part D “when savings can be gained from price competition.”

The proposal calls for an essentially flat FDA budget with no changes in budget outlays for drugs or biologics, according to an analysis prepared by the Alliance for a Stronger FDA. ...