President Trump was right when he said drug companies were getting away with murder, but sadly, his May 11 speech on what the government intends to do about high drug prices shows that he and his administration are still in bed with the drug makers. 

Rather than using the tremendous bargaining power that Medicare has to negotiate lower drug prices, Trump says we’ll have more competition in the private sector. Instead of threatening to revoke patents on U.S. drug makers who jack up their prices unconscionably, he threatens to hurt countries who boldly make essential drugs available to their people. 

On June 9, I and my colleagues from Protect Our Care Connecticut will set up a listening booth on the Parade in downtown New London from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. to collect stories from people who are having trouble paying for their prescriptions. Please come and tell us your story. We will use these to convince our legislators, both here in the state and nationally, to enact laws to truly lower high drug prices. 

Stephen R. Smith, M.D.

New London