BRUNSWICK, ME – Today, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) applauded a proposed rule from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) that would implement a piece of Senator King’s bipartisan legislative efforts to require the disclosure of drug prices in advertising. The proposed rule reflects language from the King-backed Drug-Price Transparency in Communications Act, and would require pharmaceutical companies to list prices in their prescription drugs in direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertisements. If the proposed rule were to be implemented, it would help to empower patients, promote transparency, and lower prescription drug costs.

 

“We’ve all seen the commercials for prescription medications – you know, the ones that spend half of the ad listing a variety of escalating possible side effects. But no matter how many of those commercials you watch, there’s one thing you won’t hear: how much this drug will cost you,” said Senator King. “For decades, pharmaceutical companies have been able to sell their drugs to the public without disclosing their prices, and all the while, the prices have continued to rise. These costs are hurting Maine people who rely on prescription medications, and they deserve transparency. This proposal has significant bipartisan support, and for good reason – it’s a commonsense answer that will address a serious challenge facing millions of Americans.”

 

Senator King’s bipartisan work on this issue has attracted support from the AARP, American Medical Association, American Hospital Association, Federation of American Hospitals, America’s Health Insurance Plans, BlueCross BlueShield Association, and the Campaign for Sustainable Rx Pricing. Senators King, Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) advocated for the inclusion of an amendment based on the Drug-Price Transparency in Communications Act in last month’s “minibus” funding bill, but the provision was stripped from the final bill.

 

Last year, the pharmaceutical industry spent more than $6 billion in DTC advertisements, which drive up health care costs by steering patients towards more expensive medications. The average American sees nine DTC prescription drug ads each day.  Studies show that patients are more likely to ask their doctor for a specific brand-name medication, and doctors are more likely to prescribe one, when they have been marketed directly with drug advertisements.  For these reasons, most countries have banned DTC prescription drug advertising, with the United States and New Zealand being the only two developed countries that allow it. 

 

Senator King has supported commonsense legislation to drive down the costs of medication in the United States. In September, he visited the Center for Seniors in Kennebunk to discuss the importance of lowering drug prices. During a July discussion at the Southern Maine Agency on Aging, he announced his support for legislation to prevent pharmaceutical companies from claiming tax deductions related to DTC advertising. In the May edition of his monthly Inside Maine podcast, Senator King discussed programs to help Maine people save money on medications with Sarah Jones, the Program Coordinator of MedAccess and Trish Riley, Executive Director of the National Academy for State Health Policy. In March, he discussed his legislative efforts to reduce drug prices at the Maine Veterans’ Home in Augusta, highlighting his cosponsorship of both the Drug-Price Transparency in Communications Act, which requires the cost of medications to be disclosed to both consumers and prescribers, and the Creating and Restoring Access to Equivalent Samples (CREATES) Act, which seeks to increase access to generic medications.

 

During the health care debate in July 2017, Senator King outlined a roadmap of priorities to stabilize the marketplace and lower the costs of treatment and coverage for people across the country. Included in his roadmap was the Safe and Affordable Drugs from Canada Act, bipartisan legislation that would allow for the importation of drugs from licensed Canadian pharmacies for personal use if they have the same active ingredients, route of administration, dosage form, and strength as a prescription drug approved by the FDA. Senator King also supports the Medicare Prescription Drug Price Negotiation Act, legislation that would allow the Department of Health and Human Services to negotiate lower prices for prescription drugs under Medicare.