When Drug Prices Jump, So Does Trump—If He Sees It on the News

Staffers at the Department of Health & Human Services have gotten used to a pattern: President Donald Trump sees a news report about spikes in prescription-drug list prices, Secretary Alex Azar is called to a meeting in the Oval Office, and a policy in the discussion stage gets accelerated and pushed out the door.

It’s happened at least three times, each within a week after Trump heard a news report about drug prices. Each meeting led to the public release of a proposal shortly afterward. In one instance, Trump took the highly unusual step of attending the announcement of a ...