FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 8, 2019
May 8, 2019
Contact: HHS Press Office
202-690-6343
media@hhs.gov
202-690-6343
media@hhs.gov
HHS Finalizes Rule Requiring Manufacturers
Disclose Drug Prices in TV Ads to Increase Drug Pricing Transparency
Less than a year after the
release of President Trump’s American Patients First - PDF blueprint,
HHS finalizes first rule implementing the blueprint, aimed at increasing
transparency for patients and bringing down overall drug costs both for
patients and for the Medicare and Medicaid programs.
On
Wednesday, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar announced a final rule
from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) that will require
direct-to-consumer television advertisements for prescription pharmaceuticals
covered by Medicare or Medicaid to include the list price – the Wholesale
Acquisition Cost – if that price is equal to or greater than $35 for a month’s
supply or the usual course of therapy.
“Requiring
the inclusion of drugs’ list prices in TV ads is the single most significant
step any administration has taken toward a simple commitment: American patients
deserve to know the prices of the healthcare they receive,” said HHS Secretary
Alex Azar. “Patients who are struggling with high drug costs are in that
position because of the high list prices that drug companies set. Making those
prices more transparent is a significant step in President Trump’s efforts to
reform our prescription drug markets and put patients in charge of their own
healthcare.”
“Patients
have the right to know the prices of healthcare services, and CMS is serious
about empowering patients with this information across-the-board,” said CMS
Administrator Seema Verma. “Today’s final rule is an important step toward
achieving President Trump’s vision for lowering prescription drug prices by
bringing much-needed pricing transparency to the convoluted market for
prescription drugs. Equipped with information on prescription drug prices,
patients will be better able to make informed decisions and demand value from
pharmaceutical companies.”
In May
2018, President Trump and Secretary Azar introduced the American Patients First - PDF blueprint
to bring down prescription drug prices. The blueprint laid out four strategies
for solving the problems patients face: boosting competition, enhancing
negotiation, creating incentives for lower list prices, and bringing down
out-of-pocket costs.
To create
better incentives for lower list prices, the blueprint called for HHS to
consider requiring the inclusion of list prices in direct-to-consumer
advertising. Less than a year later, this final rule has been published to implement
the vision laid out in the blueprint.
Up until
now, drug companies were required to disclose the major side effects a drug can
have—but not the effect that buying the drug could have on your wallet.
Patients deserve more transparency, and this Administration is committed to
delivering it.
List
prices matter to patients, many of whom either pay the list price or prices
based on the list price. For the forty-seven percent of Americans who have
high-deductible health insurance plans, the price they see in ads essentially
is the price they pay, until they meet their deductible. All seniors on
Medicare Part D have coinsurance for certain types of drugs, which means their
out-of-pocket expenses are calculated as a share of list price. List prices are
also what patients pay if a drug is not on their insurance formulary.
President
Trump has already done more than any President to lower drug prices for
American patients, and HHS will continue to deliver solutions as laid out in
the American Patients First - PDF blueprint
to improve drug price transparency and inform consumer decision making. HHS is
reviewing comments on a number of other proposed rules to fix opaque systems,
change perverse incentives, and put American patients first.
Click here - PDF to view the final
rule*
Click here for a fact sheet about the final
rule
* People
using assistive technology may not be able to fully access information in this
file. For assistance, please contact Michael Pratt at digital@hhs.gov.
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