Beltway Confidential

Drug prices in ads actually hurt consumers

By Sally Pipes
Published October 23, 2018 5:04pm ET
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Drug prices in ads actually hurt consumers
FILE- In this July 10, 2018, file photo bottles of medicine ride on a belt at the Express Scripts mail-in pharmacy warehouse in Florence, N.J. On Monday, Oct. 15, the industry's largest trade group announced that dozens of drugmakers will start disclosing the prices for U.S. prescription drugs advertised on TV. The prices won't actually be shown in the TV commercials but the advertisement will include a website where the list price will be posted. | (AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File)

This month, the Trump administration proposed a new rule that would require advertisements for prescription drugs covered by Medicare or Medicaid to include the list price of the medicine.

To be sure, a free market is dependent on consumers making informed decisions. But this move would provide patients with incomplete, misleading numbers that would muddle their healthcare decisions.

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Tag:

Health Insurance Industry Pharmaceutical Industry