24 September 2018 - For quite some time, consumer groups, patient advocates, and even several medical professional societies have called for direct-to-consumer advertisements to include information on drug pricing. In June 2017 the American Medical Association put out a statement explicitly arguing in favour of inclusion of drug prices in DTC advertisements.

And in late August this year, the Senate passed a measure that would provide the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) with money to implement proposed rules requiring drugmakers to disclose the list price of prescription drugs in direct-to-consumer advertising. Last month, the House of Representatives rejected the measure. 

But, the White House's drug pricing blueprint, released in May, proposes that the FDA require inclusion of list prices, or wholesale acquisition cost, in DTC advertisements. Namely, HHS Secretary Azar asserts that pricing-information disclosure falls under "fair balance" risk and benefit regulation. In light of the House decision to quash the Senate amendment, the question is whether Azar will use his authority to force drug companies to comply.

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