As soon as this summer, TV ads for prescription drugs are going to look a little different: the Trump administration recently finalized a rule that will require drug makers to show a medication’s list price. As a future physician, I am against this change. Adding the information would make the ads less helpful and more confusing for patients, who are powerless to change the complex system driving out-of-control prices.

Seeing sky-high prices on TV might discourage patients from seeking medical care for conditions they suspect they may have and asking their doctors about advertised medications. In fact, many patients only pay a fraction of the wholesale acquisition cost, or list price, that companies will be required to list in ads. On the other hand, high prices could create the false impression that the advertised brand-name drug is somehow better than more affordable options already on the market, whether that be a generic or a more affordable and functionally equivalent brand-name therapy.

Advertising prices also fails to address any underlying drivers of high drug costs in the U.S. The Trump administration’s rule analogizes prescription medications to things like cars and houses, where including prices in ads drives competition. This comparison wrongly implies that medications are sold in a free market where patients hold the buying power and can drive competition by taking their business elsewhere.

…continue reading ‘Why Adding Prices to TV Drug Ads Is Bad for Patients’

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