CMS NEWS
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 15, 2018
Contact: CMS Media Relations
(202) 690-6145 | CMS Media Inquiries
CMS Proposes to Require Manufacturers to Disclose Drug
Prices in Television Ads
Proposed rule would further the Trump Administration’s
commitment to lower prescription drug prices by requiring companies to
list prices for prescription drugs covered in Medicare or Medicaid
As part of the agency’s
ongoing efforts to empower patients and lower prescription drug prices,
the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services proposed today to
require that prescription drug manufacturers post the Wholesale
Acquisition Cost (WAC) for drugs covered in Medicare or Medicaid in
direct-to-consumer television advertisements.
“This historic proposal is an
important way to create new incentives for drug companies to start
lowering their list prices, rather than raising them,” said HHS Secretary
Alex Azar. “President Trump’s drug-pricing blueprint called for HHS to
consider how to accomplish this goal, and now we are following through on
this measure to better inform patients, help them lower their drug costs,
and reduce unreasonable spending in Medicare and Medicaid.”
The proposed rule would work
to inject greater transparency into the prices prescription drug
manufacturers set and would give beneficiaries important information they
need to make informed decisions based on cost, while concurrently
providing a moderating force to counteract price increases.
“President Trump and
Secretary Azar are working tirelessly to bring down prescription drug
prices, and today CMS is continuing to execute on the President
blueprint,” said CMS Administrator Seema Verma. “We are committed
to price transparency across-the-board, and prescription drugs are no
different. Patients often pay their cost-sharing or deductible off
of a drug’s list price. Today’s proposed rule would ensure that
those list prices are included in television advertisements, so patients
have the information they need to make informed decisions.”
Under the proposed rule, the
price required to be posted would be for a typical course of treatment
for an acute medication like an antibiotic, or a thirty day supply of
medication for a chronic condition that is taken every month, and the
posting would take the form of a legible textual statement at the end of
the ad. The HHS Secretary would maintain a public list of drugs
that were advertised in violation of this rule. CMS would provide
an exception to the requirement to post prices for prescription drugs
with list prices of less than $35 per month.
Additionally, to advance the
Administration’s goal to ensure drug price transparency and also account
for the different ways Americans receive advertising and promotional
messages, CMS is seeking comment on whether the regulation should apply
to advertisements in other media forms such as radio, magazines,
newspapers, websites, and social networking sites.
Today’s announcement further
strengthens CMS’s commitment to pull back the curtain on the system of
drug pricing. Earlier this year, CMS released a redesigned version
of the Drug Spending Dashboards which include year-over-year information
on drug prices and, for the first time, highlight which manufactures have
been increasing their prices. This move was an important step to bringing
transparency and accountability to a process largely hidden from
patients.
The agency has also taken
action to promote transparency in other areas of the healthcare system,
such as by requiring hospitals to post their standard charges online in a
machine-readable format. In addition, CMS recently launched the
eMedicare initiative to empower beneficiaries with cost and quality
information. This announcement included the launch of a
mobile-optimized out-of-pocket cost calculator that will provide
beneficiaries with information on both overall plan costs and
prescription drug costs.
For a policy brief on the Drug
Pricing Transparency CMS-4187 proposed rule, please visit: https://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2018/10/15/what-you-need-to-know-about-putting-drug-prices-in-tv-ads.html
The proposed rule can be
downloaded from the Federal Register at: https://www.federalregister.gov/public-inspection/.
CMS looks forward to feedback
on the proposal and will accept comments until December 17, 2018. Comments
may be submitted electronically through our e-Regulation website https://www.cms.gov/Regulations-and-Guidance/Regulations-and-Policies/eRulemaking/index.html?redirect=/eRulemaking.
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