24 August 2018 - The Senate spending bill passed Thursday and with it an amendment from Sens. Richard Durbin (D-IL) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) to require prescription drug advertisements to include prices.

The move, part of an effort to shine a light on pharmaceutical companies’ high drug prices, provides the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) with $1 million to implement rules requiring pharmaceutical companies to list prices of their prescription drugs in direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertisements.

Last year, the pharmaceutical industry spent more than $6 billion in DTC advertisements, and the average American sees nine DTC prescription drug ads each day, according to Grassley. The text of the amendment reads: “A drug that is advertised to consumers without the information required by this section or its implementing regulations shall be deemed to be misbranded.”

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