Judge blocks Trump administration rule requiring drug prices in TV ads

Just hours before the regulation was set to go into effect, a federal judge ruled on Monday that the Trump administration does not have the legal authority to require pharmaceutical companies to disclose drug prices in television ads.

The rule was announced in May by Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, who said if drugmakers had to list their prices on television, they would keep them as low as possible to avoid embarrassment. Instead, Merck & Co., Eli Lilly and Co., and Amgen Inc. argued that by being forced to state the prices, their right to free speech was being violated.

U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta in Washington, D.C., said in a 27-page ruling that the "policy very well could be an effective tool in halting the rising cost of prescription drugs. But no matter how vexing the problem of spiraling drug costs may be, HHS cannot do more than what Congress has authorized. The responsibility rests with Congress to act in the first instance." An HHS spokeswoman told The Associated Press the administration "will be working with the Department of Justice on next steps related to the litigation."

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