Investing.com - President-elect Donald Trump said during a news briefing at Trump Tower in New York City that he was planning a new process that would increase competitive bidding for federal government prescription drug purchases.
Prices of health care company equities, on NYSE and Nasdaq, dropped in reaction to Trump's press briefing.
Trump said that presently there is no competitive bidding -- for federal Medicare and Veterans Affairs drug purchases -- and that this needed to be reformed quickly, when he assumes office.
The President-elect said the world's major pharma companies have "a lot of lobbyists in Washington D.C.," but do "not, in many cases, manufacture the product in the U.S." That has to change, Trump said.
Trump also said he has selected a new Secretary of Veterans Affairs, David Shulkin, and a news release would be offered on that later today.
"We're going to straighten out the whole situation with our veterans. They are staying in line for 15,16, 17 days. They have a mild stage of cancer when they are in line and when they get seen they are terminal," said Trump.
Trump said the changes will lead to higher employment in healthcare overall.
"There's a great spirit going on. We're going to create jobs. I will be the greatest jobs producer that God every created," said Trump. "I mean that."
Trading in U.S. Treasuries were mixed this morning on Wall Street as investors concentrated on the impact from this news conference.
Ten-Year T-Bills were up 0.011% right before the press event, nine days before the president-elect's inauguration.
MI6 Intelligence Wildfire
President-elect Trump's team also rebuffed farcical allegations by the U.S. media today, based on opposition research memos not used during the election campaign last year, that he sent a secret emissary to Prague last summer to meet with Kremlin operatives.
Incoming White House press secretary Sean Spicer denounced CNN and another news organization for making ""highly salacious allegations, and outright false information" based on "flimsly reporting."
Vice President-elect Mike Pence called the allegations "irresponsible" and part of an ongoing progressive campaign to "deligitimize the results of the election."
Trump himself said the U.S. intelligence agencies might have been involved in the release of the false data, and if that was the case, there would be repercussions. There are also rumblings that British intelligence agency, MI6, was involved in circulating the false allegations about Prague meetings, and had handed them both to Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), a failed GOP nominee for president from 2008, and FBI Director James Comey.
"It's a disgrace that information is let out," said Trump. "It's all fake news. It's phony stuff. It didn't happen. It's a group of opponents, sick people, who got together."