Trump’s Drug-Ad Price Shaming Won’t Fix the Problem
Transparency is a laudable goal, but a proposed rule to force disclosure of medicines’ list prices may only add to consumers’ confusion.
The wrong prescription.
Photographer: Jeff Greenberg/Universal Images Group EditorialNaming and shaming has become a signature part of President Donald Trump’s drug-pricing efforts. A series of tweets earlier this year managed to push pharmaceutical companies including Pfizer Inc. to temporarily halt price increases.
The tactic is being taken to a new level with the administration’s plan, officially revealed Monday afternoon by Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar, to force drugmakers to disclose the list price of medicines available under Medicare or Medicaid in their TV ads. The thinking is, if pharmaceutical companies have to reveal what they charge in such a conspicuous way, they may not price medicines so highly to begin with and may be less inclined to increase prices.