Grassley, Durbin Relaunch Bipartisan Effort to Boost Transparency in Prescription Drug Advertisements

Grassley, Durbin Relaunch Bipartisan Effort to Boost Transparency in Prescription Drug Advertisements

WASHINGTON - Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), a senior member and former chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, and Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) today reintroduced the Drug-price Transparency for Consumers (DTC) Act. The bipartisan bill would require price disclosures on prescription drug advertisements to empower patients and reduce bloated spending on medications.

"Knowing what something costs before buying it is just common sense," Grassley said. "Disclosing the list price of prescription drugs in advertisements is a no-nonsense way to empower health care consumers to make informed decisions about their care. It also spurs competition, which leads to lower prescription drug costs."

"Pharmaceutical advertising is a uniquely American phenomenon that contributes to the astronomical cost of prescription drugs. With billions of dollars in targeted spending, patients are bombarded with commercials for the latest 'wonder-drug' but kept in the dark about one crucial factor-price. This practice of pushing patients toward the most expensive drugs drives up the cost of health care while undermining the role of doctors. A healthy dose of transparency is the prescription Big Pharma needs," Durbin said. "Senator Grassley and I have introduced the DTC Act to shine light on the real costs of medications in these outrageous commercials."

Cosponsors of the bill include Sens. Angus King (I-Maine), Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.).

The legislation is endorsed by AARP, American Academy of Neurology, American College of Physicians, Patients for Affordable Drugs Now and Campaign for Sustainable Rx Pricing.

Find bill text HERE.

Background:

A 2021 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report found that, between 2016 to 2018, 58 percent of total Medicare spending on drugs resulted from prescription drug companies' direct-to-consumer advertising. Further, a 2023 Journal of the American Medical Association study found that two-thirds of advertised drugs offered "low therapeutic value." Requiring direct-to-consumer (DTC) prescription drug advertisements to disclose drugs' list price will allow patients to make informed choices and force pharmaceutical companies to scrutinize their pricing and advertising tactics.

In recent years, the pharmaceutical industry has sued to keep their drug prices out of TV advertisements. The pharmaceutical industry spends $6 billion annually in DTC drug advertising, and the average American sees nine DTC ads per day. Without drug price transparency, patients are often steered toward more expensive drugs, even when they may not need the medication or a lower-cost generic is available. Most countries have banned DTC prescription drug advertising - the United States and New Zealand are the only industrialized nations to permit this opaque practice. A Kaiser survey found that 88 percent of Americans support drug price disclosure.

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