The drug industry's main lobby on Monday moved to head off a Trump administration push on pricing transparency, saying member companies will begin using television ads to direct consumers to information about the cost of medicines.
The move by PhRMA, which takes effect April 15, attempts an end run around the administration's anticipated announcement this week requiring drug companies to include the list price of a drug in advertisements and drew a swift rebuke from HHS Secretary Alex Azar.
"We believe just including list prices is not sufficient and would be misleading for several reasons," said PhRMA CEO Stephen Ubl on a press call Monday morning. List prices are not a good indication of what patients pay since consumers' various insurance benefits will determine their out-of-pocket costs, Ubl said. They also don't include negotiated discounts with pharmacy benefits managers. That could discourage patients from seeking appropriate medical care, he said.
PhRMA member companies won't be putting price information directly in their ads, but instead will include information on where patients can find more information on the cost of their medicines, like a website. The website would include the drug's list price, an expected range of possible patient out-of-pocket costs and financial support that is available to help consumers pay for their drugs.
Due to antitrust concerns, PhRMA said it could not require companies to follow a standard format for determining what cost information to share and how it is presented.
Azar said the industry's move wasn't enough.
"The drug industry remains resistant to providing real transparency around their prices, including the sky-high list prices that many patients pay. So while the pharmaceutical industry's action today is a small step in the right direction, we will go further and continue to implement the President's blueprint to deliver new transparency and put American patients first," HHS Secretary Alex Azar said.
PhRMA indicated it's likely to mount a First Amendment legal challenge to the administration's plan, which HHS shows not signs of backing down from.
"The concern is that if the government is compelling companies to speak than that violates the first amendment," PhRMA General Counsel James Stansel said.
Health policy experts were skeptical such a challenge would succeed.
"Industry could challenge the proposal as unconstitutional compelled commercial speech, but it is doubtful that such a challenge would be successful," said Ameet Sarpatwari, a lawyer who studies drug pricing issues at Harvard Medical School. "A strong argument exists that list prices are factual, uncontroversial information, in which case HHS would need only to show that the disclosure requirement is rationally related to legitimate government interest."
No comments:
Post a Comment