Drug companies may soon have to include prices in TV ads
Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar on Monday released a proposal requiring drug companies to reveal how much their medications cost in television ads.
"Right now, drug companies are required to disclose the major side effects a drug can have — but not the effect that buying the drug could have on your wallet," the department said in a statement. The law would apply to brand-name drugs covered by both Medicare and Medicaid, CBS News reports, as long as a typical course of treatment costs more than $35 every month.
PhRMA, the drug industry's largest trade group, said it's open to putting prices up on a website, but believes if prices are revealed in commercials, that could "discourage patients from seeking needed medical care."
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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
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