Pelosi sees possible ‘common ground’ with Trump on drug prices

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (Calif.) said Tuesday that if Democrats control the House, they could work with President Trump to lower drug prices.

“I think we could find common ground on reducing the cost of prescription drugs, if the president is serious about his saying that he wants to do that,” Pelosi said during an interview on PBS NewsHour.

Trump has said on multiple occasions that drug companies are “getting away with murder,” but Democrats say he and congressional Republicans have gone too easy on the pharmaceutical industry.

“[Trump] has pulled his punch on it so far,” Pelosi said.

Drug prices have spiked over the last decade, putting a pinch on consumers. While the issue has become a bipartisan one, particularly with strong public support for lowering drug prices, the two parties are divided on how best to bring down costs.

Democrats want Medicare to negotiate prices and want to allow Americans to buy cheaper prescription drugs from abroad. Republicans have historically opposed those ideas, though Trump supported both policies on the campaign trail.

The administration has been following a drug price reduction “blueprint” released from the White House earlier this year, and recently said they will force drug companies to disclose the list prices of drugs in televised ads.

But no policy has had a major impact yet, and companies are still raising prices.