N.C. Sen. Bill Purcell rose to ask President Barack Obama a question about prescription drugs.
Purcell is a primary care physician and said his patients sometimes struggle to pay for the medicine they need to get better.
"What can we do about the high cost of medicine in America?" he asked.
Obama said that drugs cost 77 percent more in America than in any other country. Research and development as well as marketing costs play into that disparity, Obama said.
"Basically the pharmaceutical industry can get away with it," he said.
Obama said he would push for allowing Medicare to negotiate for the price of prescription drugs. He also said he would want to see debate about how long drug patents should last. Right now, pharmaceutical companies can hold a patent for 12 years. He would consider lowering that to seven years.
"There's no reason why we should not be able to at least pay in the ball park of what other countries are paying for the exact same drug," Obama said.
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