Bill Clinton: “You are subsidizing the pharmaceuticals made in America, sold in virtually every other country in the world, because…”

“You are subsidizing the pharmaceuticals made in America, sold in virtually every other country in the world, because they're made here, and you're paying higher prices for them than people in other places. As I said, I understand their argument. They say, ``Well, why shouldn't we go in there and sell if we can make some money, but we have to recover our drug development costs.'' I'm sympathetic to a point, but not to the point that people like you can't have a decent living. So I think this will be a good compromise, and I hope the pharmaceutical companies will reconsider their opposition. It would be a good thing, not a bad thing, if we had the market power of large-bulk purchasers to hold these prices down to you. [The conversation continued.]”