Skip to main content
Subscribe
  • Sign Up Free
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • News
    • Current News
    • Providers
    • Insurance
    • Government
    • Finance
    • Technology
    • Safety & Quality
    • Digital Health
    • Transformation
    • ESG
    • People
    • Regional News
    • Digital Edition (Web Version)
    • Patients
    • Operations
    • Care Delivery
    • Payment
    • Midwest
    • Northeast
    • South
    • West
  • Blogs
    • AI
    • Deals
    • Layoff Tracker
    • HIMSS 2023
  • Opinion
    • Breaking Bias
    • Commentaries
    • Letters
    • From the Editor
  • Events & Awards
    • Awards
    • Conferences
    • Galas
    • Virtual Briefings
    • Webinars
    • Nominate/Eligibility
    • 100 Most Influential People
    • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
    • 40 Under 40
    • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
    • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
    • Innovators Awards
    • Diversity in Healthcare
      • - Luminaries
      • - Top 25 Diversity Leaders
      • - Leaders to Watch
    • Women Leaders
    • Digital Health Transformation Summit
    • Leadership Symposium
    • Social Determinants of Health Symposium
    • Women Leaders in Healthcare Conference
    • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
    • Health Care Hall of Fame Gala
    • Top 25 Diversity Leaders Gala
    • Top 25 Women Leaders Gala
    • - Looking Ahead to 2024
    • - AI and Digital Health
    • - Hospital of the Future (Fall)
  • Multimedia
    • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
    • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
    • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
    • Sponsored Video Series - Checking In with Dan Peres
  • Data & Insights
    • Data & Insights Home
    • Hospital Financials
    • Staffing & Compensation
    • Quality & Safety
    • Mergers & Acquisitions
    • Data Archive
    • Resource Guide: By the Numbers
    • Surveys
    • Data Points
  • Newsletters
  • MORE+
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Media Kit
    • Jobs
    • People on the Move
    • Reprints & Licensing
MENU
Breadcrumb
  1. Home
  2. Government
May 08, 2019 08:08 AM

Drug prices must be in TV ads under CMS final rule

Robert King
  • Tweet
  • Share
  • Share
  • Email
  • More
    Getty Images/Tetra images RF

    The CMS on Wednesday finalized a rule that forces drug manufacturers to provide the list price for their products in direct-to-consumer ads, a policy aimed at increasing transparency and vehemently opposed by industry.

    The new policy will apply to drugs or biologics with list prices greater than $35 for a month's supply or the normal course of therapy, which HHS Secretary Alex Azar said is what consumers would be accustomed to pay because it's close to an insurance plan's average copayment for these drugs.

    Azar shot back at pharmaceutical industry claims that the rule would confuse consumers because the list price isn't what they pay due to discounts and rebates.

    "Claiming list prices don't matter is almost the same as claiming there is no problem with high drug costs at all," Azar said during a call with reporters on the rule.

    The rule doesn't exactly define how the list price should be included in the ad.

    "We left it to the people designing ads that this needs to be in a font size and color that is legible," said John O'Brien, senior adviser on drug pricing for HHS, at an event sponsored by the Atlantic in Washington on Wednesday.

    Drugmakers will need to do more than place a link to pricing information in the ad. The leading pharma lobbying group, Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, had called for its members to add a link to more information as a way to circumvent the need for federal regulation.

    "They put $4 billion a year into TV advertising," Azar said of drug companies. "To point [consumers] to the internet is the equivalent to saying they should put their ads on the internet and not on TV."

    He added that the rule, first proposed in October and going into effect in 60 days, will also allow drug companies to say that insurance may change the price.

    PhRMA President Steve Ubl bashed the rule during the Atlantic event, touting instead the association's voluntary program to add a link in ads.

    "Rather than a government mandate to cram this information into an already cluttered ad, we believe patients should have this information along with comprehensive information," Ubl said.

    The CMS is relying on drug companies to effectively regulate each other, a break from how direct-to-consumer ads are currently regulated.

    The Food and Drug Administration already regulates direct-to-consumer ads and cracks down on companies that fail to list the side effects among other violations. However, HHS decided not to send the rule through FDA but rather through the CMS due to legal reasons.

    "We decided that our authority with the Social Security Act with Medicare and Medicaid provided the strongest platform and enforcement with the Lanham Act rather than having FDA inject itself into list pricing considerations," Azar said.

    The Lanham Act is a law that governs trademarks and copyrights. It also allows competitors to sue one another for making false statements in an ad.

    "There are very large legal practices built on pharma companies suing each other," Azar said.

    The secretary brushed off a question about whether the rule violates First Amendment rights for drug companies, noting that car dealers are required to post the sticker price for their cars.

    But pharma companies have successfully used the First Amendment to challenge and overturn advertising regulations before. The FDA has lost several federal lawsuits from pharma companies challenging the agency's authority to prohibit the promotion of off-label use of a drug product by the manufacturer because of First Amendment concerns.

    Story developing ...

    Letter
    to the
    Editor

    Send us a letter

    Have an opinion about this story? Click here to submit a Letter to the Editor, and we may publish it in print.

    Recommended for You
    California hospital pic
    California’s CalAIM Medicaid experiment struggling with implementation
    congress prescription drugs
    PBMs, Big Pharma face off in House hearing
    Most Popular
    1
    5 factors impacting next year's hospital financials
    2
    Epic CEO Judy Faulkner touts gen AI, clinical research tools
    3
    Labor challenges slowing nonprofit hospital recovery: Fitch
    4
    Meet the 2023 Most Influential People in Healthcare
    5
    CVS Health unveils 'cost plus' drug pricing model
    Sponsored Content
    Modern Healthcare Alert: Sign up for this breaking news email to be kept in the loop as urgent healthcare business news unfolds.
    Get Newsletters

    Sign up for enewsletters and alerts to receive breaking news and in-depth coverage of healthcare events and trends, as they happen, right to your inbox.

    Subscribe Today
    MH Magazine Cover

    MH magazine offers content that sheds light on healthcare leaders’ complex choices and touch points—from strategy, governance, leadership development and finance to operations, clinical care, and marketing.

    Subscribe
    Connect with Us
    • LinkedIn
    • Twitter
    • Facebook
    • RSS

    Our Mission

    Modern Healthcare empowers industry leaders to succeed by providing unbiased reporting of the news, insights, analysis and data.

    Contact Us

    (877) 812-1581

    Email us

     

    Resources
    • Contact Us
    • Help Center
    • Advertise with Us
    • Ad Choices
    • Sitemap
    Editorial Dept
    • Submission Guidelines
    • Code of Ethics
    • Awards
    • About Us
    Legal
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
    • Privacy Request
    Modern Healthcare
    Copyright © 1996-2023. Crain Communications, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
    • News
      • Current News
      • Providers
      • Insurance
      • Government
      • Finance
      • Technology
      • Safety & Quality
      • Digital Health
      • Transformation
        • Patients
        • Operations
        • Care Delivery
        • Payment
      • ESG
      • People
      • Regional News
        • Midwest
        • Northeast
        • South
        • West
      • Digital Edition (Web Version)
    • Blogs
      • AI
      • Deals
      • Layoff Tracker
      • HIMSS 2023
    • Opinion
      • Breaking Bias
      • Commentaries
      • Letters
      • From the Editor
    • Events & Awards
      • Awards
        • Nominate/Eligibility
        • 100 Most Influential People
        • 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives
        • 40 Under 40
        • Best Places to Work in Healthcare
        • Healthcare Marketing Impact Awards
        • Innovators Awards
        • Diversity in Healthcare
          • - Luminaries
          • - Top 25 Diversity Leaders
          • - Leaders to Watch
        • Women Leaders
      • Conferences
        • Digital Health Transformation Summit
        • Leadership Symposium
        • Social Determinants of Health Symposium
        • Women Leaders in Healthcare Conference
      • Galas
        • Best Places to Work Awards Gala
        • Health Care Hall of Fame Gala
        • Top 25 Diversity Leaders Gala
        • Top 25 Women Leaders Gala
      • Virtual Briefings
        • - Looking Ahead to 2024
        • - AI and Digital Health
        • - Hospital of the Future (Fall)
      • Webinars
    • Multimedia
      • Podcast - Beyond the Byline
      • Sponsored Podcast - Healthcare Insider
      • Sponsored Video Series - One on One
      • Sponsored Video Series - Checking In with Dan Peres
    • Data & Insights
      • Data & Insights Home
      • Hospital Financials
      • Staffing & Compensation
      • Quality & Safety
      • Mergers & Acquisitions
      • Data Archive
      • Resource Guide: By the Numbers
      • Surveys
      • Data Points
    • Newsletters
    • MORE+
      • Contact Us
      • Advertise
      • Media Kit
      • Jobs
      • People on the Move
      • Reprints & Licensing