Posted by Michael Wonder on 16 Jul 2019
Ask whether a drug works before worrying about what it costs
16 July 2019 - Last week was supposed to be a turning point for drug price transparency.
The Department of Health and Human Services planned to implement a new rule requiring drug commercials on television to disclose the “list price” of the medication being advertised. According to the HHS press release, this would be the most significant single step any administration has ever taken with regard to drug pricing.
But it isn’t going to happen. Three big drug companies, Merck, Eli Lilly and Amgen along with an industry trade group, the Assn. of National Advertisers, filed a successful lawsuit blocking the rule. According to Judge Amit P. Mehta of the United States District Court in the District of Columbia, HHS does not have the authority to mandate price disclosure.
How upset should consumers be? Not very. The HHS argued that the rule would create an incentive to lower prices by shaming companies that charge a lot. But that was wishful thinking. Since when has big pharma responded to shame?
