Patients in the United States pay the highest prescription drug prices in the world — on average four times what people in other developed countries pay for the exact same brand-name medications.
What makes the U.S. such an outlier when it comes to the high price of prescription drugs? The uniquely American phenomenon of pharmaceutical advertising.
If you turn on the nightly news, scroll Instagram or stream your favorite show, you are likely to be bombarded by commercials for the latest wonder drug featuring a pleasing tune and patients rock climbing, golfing or whitewater rafting. The U.S. is one of two countries in the world that allows these misleading prescription drug advertisements.
Each year, the pharmaceutical industry spends $6 billion in direct-to-consumer advertising to flood the airwaves with commercials that steer patients to the most expensive medications, despite cheaper, more effective drugs being on the market. This practice of pushing patients toward more costly drugs drives up the cost of health care while undermining the role of doctors.
Meanwhile, our Canadian neighbors, spared from a constant stream of advertisements, can access the same prescription drugs for a fraction of the cost that the pharmaceutical industry charges American consumers.
For too long, Big Pharma has filled the airwaves with tons of commercials to fuel demand for its products while failing to disclose the inflated, ever-increasing price of these medications. Patients deserve to know the price of their medication.
A healthy dose of transparency is the prescription Big Pharma needs.
To demand more sunshine from Big Pharma’s advertisements, I have partnered with my Republican colleague, U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, to introduce the Drug-price Transparency for Consumers (DTC) Act. Our legislation would require price disclosures on advertisements for prescription drugs, which would empower patients and reduce excess spending on medications. When Big Pharma pauses the jingle in an advertisement long enough to rattle off side effects faster than you can comprehend, the least it can do is tell you how much the drug costs.
In response to our legislation, Big Pharma would tell you that it needs to keep prices secret because patients might be confused by learning the price the manufacturer charges. We have a little more faith in American consumers — especially since our legislation would permit the advertisement to explain how insurance coverage may lower out-of-pocket expenses. But what it will fail to mention is this: Its incessant advertising is designed to pad its profits.
When then-President Joe Biden recently announced the 15 prescription drugs that would be negotiated for lower prices under Medicare, many of these blockbuster medications were among the most heavily advertised products — costing taxpayers billions of dollars. A recent study found that two-thirds of advertised drugs provided “low therapeutic value.”
As President Donald Trump has previously tweeted about this effort, it’s time for drug corporations to “come clean about their prices in TV ads,” adding, “if drug companies are ashamed of those prices — lower them!”
That’s right. Trump has supported our effort, finding common ground with me and Grassley to help American patients afford their medications at the pharmacy counter. And given the First Amendment challenges that would likely be brought against any effort to outright ban DTC advertising, our bipartisan approach is the most credible strategy on the table to lower drug costs and protect patients from these misleading ads.
This issue is beyond partisanship. In fact, a Kaiser Family Foundation survey found that 88% of Americans support this price disclosure policy for advertisements. America’s physicians, hospitals and AARP support it as well. Grassley and I will continue to push for accountability from Big Pharma, ensuring all Americans have access to affordable prescription drugs.
It’s shameful that Big Pharma spends billions in targeted advertisements, often bombarding patients with gibberish, while keeping them in the dark about one crucial factor — the price. With the DTC Act, we will require Big Pharma to end the secrecy and shine light on the real costs of medications — saving Americans from excessive health care costs.
U.S. Sen. Dick Durbin is a Democrat from Illinois.
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