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Fact-checking RFK Jr.'s claim there's more than one way to calculate a percentage decrease

Fact-checking RFK Jr.'s claim there's more than one way to calculate a percentage decrease

Summary

President Donald Trump and his Health and Human Services Secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., claimed that drug-price discounts reached 600%, a statement that is mathematically incorrect. Experts explain that the correct way to calculate percentage decrease shows the discount would be about 98.3%, not 600%.

Key Facts

  • President Trump said drug-price discounts reached more than 100%, including claims up to 600%.
  • Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. defended these claims during a Senate hearing and an Oval Office event.
  • Kennedy said a price drop from $600 to $10 equals a 600% discount, citing two ways to calculate percentages.
  • Mathematical rules define percentage decrease by subtracting the new price from the original price, then dividing by the original price.
  • Using correct math, the drop from $600 to $10 is a 98.3% decrease, not 600%.
  • Senator Elizabeth Warren questioned the validity of the 600% discount claim during the hearing.
  • The article clarifies that there is only one accepted method to calculate percentage change, which was not followed.
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