Kamala Harris and Donald Trump barely talked about drug prices during the debate

Rising prescription drug prices were mentioned only once during yesterday's presidential debate between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump.

Harris brought up the topic when moderators asked her for details about her health care plan.

“Since I've been vice president, we've capped prescription drug costs for seniors at $2,000 a year,” Harris said, referring to one of her proposals to lower drug prices. “And when I'm president, we'll do that for all people.”

She also praised recent negotiations on drug prices in Medicare that took place as part of the Inflation Control Act signed by President Joe Biden in 2022.

Although drug prices have received little attention in the debate, costs to consumers continue to rise rapidly.

Drug prices rose by about 15%, or an average of $590 per drug, from 2022 to 2023, according to a report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The price increases were even steeper when looking only at newly introduced drugs. Pharmaceutical companies set prices for new drugs in the U.S. 35% higher in 2023 than in the previous year. according to a Reuters analysis.

Lowering prescription drug prices was a key goal during both the Biden-Harris and Trump administrations.

During his presidency, Biden allowed Medicare to negotiate certain drug prices for its enrollees and to cap out-of-pocket costs for insulin and prescription drugs for Medicare enrollees.

In August, Harris said that if elected, she would support expanding those programs, including capping annual prescription drug out-of-pocket costs at $2,000 for all Americans.

During his presidency Trump suggested to link Medicare drug spending to drug prices in other countries. He make a rule which allows states to import medicines from other countries.