Drugmakers will be required to include prices on their prescription medicines in TV advertising
.
This will only apply to medications costing more than $35 a month. The details are expected to appear around the point in commercials where potential side effects are quickly disclosed.
In his
remarks on the bill, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar spoke on the implications of this ruling and the effect it will have on how drug companies advertise today.
“One very commonly advertised drug, for plaque psoriasis, has a list price of $3,400 a month. It’s only covered by one of the
25 standalone Medicare Part D plans available here in Washington, D.C.
What kind of pricing information does its manufacturer include in their advertisements today? Their ads tell you to ask them about the possibility of a $0 co-pay.
What are you actually going to owe if you ask your doctor to prescribe it to you? Who knows.
Now, if you’re one of the people living around D.C. on the plan that covers this drug, you may well have access to it at a price much lower than $3,400 a month.”
He called TV advertising big pharma’s most impactful form of messaging, where the industry spends a combined $4 billion to reach its patients. These rules apply to all brand name drugs covered by Medicare and Medicaid, which is nearly all medications.
He acknowledged complaints from the drug industry that the government is infringing on First Amendment rights, when he
told the Associated Press that car makers have been required to post their prices in vehicle advertisements for decades.
“Prices of automobiles are vastly less important to your health and affordability than drugs.”
According to data from
IQVIA Medicine, manufacturers retail the most revenue along the supply chain at $323 billion.