Wednesday, October 17, 2018
Transparency?
The Trump administration is about to rule that pharmaceutical companies have to list the price of their drugs in TV ads if the medicines cost more than $35 a month. The industry, of course, is opposed. It wants to direct consumers to web sites where the cost is enumerated. Critics of the proposal say it is unclear how exposing drug prices would do anything to control their rise. Also, the proposal would be voluntary and the government would rely on shaming companies that fail to follow the rule. The idea is interesting and might have a chance of working. Transparency is missing in the drug industry. (Few people hear or read contraindications mandated with advertising.) Would it be the same with pricing? The only way to find out is to do it, but pharma companies are threatening to tie the rule up in court for years to come. The public might never get a chance to make up its own mind.
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