http://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/1/31/14455656/obamacare-trump-drug-prices

If Trump’s pharma comments are any clue, we have no idea what he wants on Obamacare

President Trump has apparently done some rethinking on his views of American drug pricing policy, offering confusing remarks that indicated he might not support Medicare negotiating drug prices.

“I’ll oppose anything that makes it harder for smaller, younger companies to take the risk of bringing their product to a vibrantly competitive market,” Trump said after meeting with pharmaceutical executives Tuesday. “That includes price-fixing by the biggest dog in the market, Medicare, which is what’s happening.”

This appears to contradict what he said a mere two weeks ago, at a press conference in Manhattan. “Pharma has a lot of lobbies, a lot of lobbyists, and a lot of power. And there’s very little bidding on drugs,” he said there. “We’re the largest buyer of drugs in the world, and yet we don’t bid properly.”

This back and forth on drug pricing is suggestive of what to expect from the president on the Affordable Care Act. There too, Trump has made big promises that most of his Republican colleagues on the Hill have not. The biggest one is that he will come up with a plan to cover everybody and do it at a lower cost than Obamacare.

In this drug pricing example, I see how Trump could break his promise to cover everyone. It boils down to three main reasons, all present in the drug pricing situation.