Administration's plan for drug pricing keeps status quo

The headline in the Wall Street Journal seemed to sum up the president’s plans for dealing with America’s high drug prices.

“Drug Industry Relieved By Price Proposal,” it read and described the president’s blueprint as falling short of “more far-reaching ideas.” Since the plan contained no major threat to the status quo, it’s no wonder it boosted pharmaceutical stocks.

In other words, the plan continued the current system under which the government does not negotiate the prices it pays for medicines under the Medicare program, a far-reaching solution that I’ve discussed before in this space. T...