Coming soon to TV commercials: drug prices?

Last updated on: October 16, 2018 at 2:53 pm by Jane the Actuary

Coming soon to TV commercials: drug prices? 2018-10-16T14:53:52-06:00 Jane the Actuary

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

In the news today (in this case, via AP): “US wants drug prices in TV ads: ‘Patients deserve to know’.”

The federal government said Monday that it wants to force drugmakers to disclose prices for prescription medicines in their TV commercials. . . .

Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar unveiled a proposal that would apply to all brand-name drugs covered by the Medicare and Medicaid programs, which is most medicines. . . .

Most Americans don’t pay the full price for prescriptions — one reason drugmakers have opposed disclosing the list prices, arguing that would just confuse the public. But insurance plans base their copayments on the list price set by drugmakers. And patients with high-deductibles plans or no insurance sometimes pay full price.

I think that’s an awesome idea.

It’s already the case that drugmakers are required to list side-effects of the drugs they market on TV. Yes, the narrator does so in a manner designed so that viewers won’t really digest the information, with a happy grandmother playing with her childen now that the medicine has freed her from arthritis or depression or whatever her ailment is, or a woman freed to wear a bathing suit now that she’s no longer shamed by her condition, with joyful music in the background, but nonetheless, the drugmakers comply. Why not also list drug prices?

After all, some of these medications are not as cheap as you’d think they’d be for how commonly they’re on TV. Humira, used for everything from arthritis to Crohn’s to psoriasis, runs over $7,000 per month for its use as a Crohn’s treatment. A 2015 report lists eye-popping numbers, many of them running well into 6 digits for a treatment cycle or a year’s worth of medication, for a long list of medications, though many of them are visibly for rare diseases or deadly cancers, and are lifesaving for those who receive them. At the same time, others are high-priced treatments for more ordinary conditions, conditions where there may be a range of treatment options, and the fortunate patient, when faced with a high deductible, will have a doctor who will be likewise well-versed in the costs and benefits of those treatment options — but the reality is that doctors generally don’t, and can’t, keep track of which drugs are on what formularies and what the negotiated agreements are with various insurance plans, or to what extent uninsured patients can benefit from patient assistance programs or whether they even qualify based on income requirements.

Would a requirement that Humira commercials state, “the MSRP for Humira is $7,500 per month” or “the list price for Otezla is $3,500 per month” provide meaningful information for patients with health insurance which negotiates a lower rate? Not in itself. But the knowledge that they’d have to disclose this information could help at the margins, in sparking conversations with doctors about price and value, and the drug companies themselves, in cases where their list prices are eye-poppingly higher than the negotiated discounts with insurers, and priced that way to give them leverage, to allow them to collect more revenue from the government, and to cash in on uninsured folk who for whatever reason don’t seek out or don’t qualify for drug assistance programs, may be shamed into ending, or moderating these tactics, anyway.

And no, making the list prices available on a website rather than as part of the commercial, won’t have anything remotely like the same effect — which is why the drugmakers are proposing the website alternative.

Image from pixabay.com; https://pixabay.com/en/diet-pills-medication-pharmacy-sick-1328802/; public domain

Previous Post

October 13, 2018

Limp wrists and coddled minds

Next Post

October 19, 2018 What about Jamal Khashoggi?

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Actuarial/Retirement Issues Politics Uncategorized

Select a Month September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 December 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 August 2021 June 2021 April 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

How was Haman punished for his plot?

Select your answer to see how you score.

He was beheaded He was hanged on the gallows he built He was exiled He was turned into a pillar of salt