Former Gov. Phil Bredesen wants to take a page from Donald Trump's playbook to cut the cost of health care in America.

Bredesen, the Democratic candidate vying to succeed the retiring U.S. Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., wants the federal government to use the "most favored status" used in foreign trade and often in business deals like what Trump negotiated in the past to avoid having others get better prices on medicines.

Although the U.S. government through Medicare, Medicaid and the Veterans Administration buys more drugs than any entity in the world, the federal government pays, on average, about 80 percent more than do consumers in other countries for prescription drugs. Bredesen, sounding a bit like Trump as the author of the "Art of the Deal," thinks the U.S. government should negotiate a better deal with the drug companies.

Document Study on drug costs View

Bredesen has been traveling across the state this week to tout his plan to ensure that the U.S. gets the same price as drug buyers anywhere in the North America or Europe. On Thursday, Bredesen touted the advantage of the idea to a couple dozen Chattanoogans gathered over coffee at Niedlov's Breadworks on the Southside where Bredesen said health care is emerging as the top issue in this year's campaign.

Bredesen's idea to cut medicine costs is similar to what President Trump unveiled Thursday in a plan that would gradually shift Medicare payments for drugs administered in doctors' offices to a level based on international prices. Prices in other countries are lower because governments directly negotiate with manufacturers.

Trump's plan would not apply to medicines people buy at the pharmacy, which Bredesen said they should.

But the Democrat did agree with Trump that the United States needs to get better prices for prescription drugs to help hold down some of the higher costs of health care in the United States compared with the rest of the world.

"I would be perfectly willing to work with the president," Bredesen said. "He is a business person and you would think might find something like this very attractive."

Pharmaceutical companies say prices for drugs must reflect the research, development, testing and liability involved with medicines and cutting prices too much could curb new and better medicines needed to improve health care.

But Bredesen said all countries need to fairly share such expenses, not just the U.S. which pays more because it is unable to use its purchasing power to negotiate better prices. Rather than try to revamp drug pricing, Bredesen simply wants to impose the "most favored status" requirement to ensure the U.S. government pays what other pay for medicine around the world.

"This is doable and would work but you've got to face down the lobbying power of the pharmaceutical companies and that is not going to be easy," Bredesen said. "The drug companies need to recognize it's a different world and there's a new sheriff in town for CMS (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) to accommodate more realistic pricing."

Bredesen said he is not pushing for Medicare for all as some of his Democratic colleagues are doing. The former Tennessee governor also has been critical in the past of many of the features in the Democrat-backed Affordable Care Act, or Obamacare.

"I don't have an interest in being a foot soldier for the Democratic party or a permanent opponent to the president," Bredesen told Chattanooga reporters Thursday. "We need to think things through and sometimes the best approach will align with Democrats and sometimes with Republicans."

But Bredesen's health care ideas don't appear to align with his GOP opponent, U.S. Rep. Marsha Blackburn, who contends that Bredesen in his book Fresh Medicine advocated "draconian cost management" and vouchers to cut costs. A Blackburn campaign mailer also claims Bredesen would "take the money you've paid into Medicare and divert it for everyone's health care" to try to broaden coverage for more people.

Bredesen bristled at Blackburn's criticisms.

"I don't think my opponent has ever read Fresh Medicine and, if she had, she would know that those are not accurate statements," he said. "I never talked about taking money out of Medicare. I did talk about the need for quality assurance and to find better ways to make use of systems of care."