Kaiser Permanente CEO calls drug prices irrational

Emily Rappleye -

Kaiser Permanente CEO Bernard Tyson told CNBC's Squawk Box he has a problem with prescription drug prices and he cannot rationalize how much we pay for them in the U.S.

He said there is not a true free market for prescription drugs in our country and the government is unable to negotiate with drugmakers on prices for Medicare, according to CNBC.

"When the prices are established with the government, it therefore becomes the ceiling, if you will, and so I can't go in and negotiate a lower price because then they'll have to give that price to the government and everyone else," he said, according to CNBC.

He said he understood the high prices help fund new cures, such as the hepatitis C cure, but added, "We have to figure out how we bring it all together, because at the center of my agenda is affordability, and that's really all I'm after while we continue to improve quality and service," according to CNBC.

 

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