White House has not given up on forcing drugmakers to list prices in ads

The White House has signalled its intention to press ahead with proposals to force drugmakers to include drug pricing information in direct-to-consumer advertising (DTC), despite the apparent inability of Congress to sign up to the idea.

In a speech in Washington DC on Monday, US Health Secretary Alex Azar reportedly said that drugmakers would be required to quote the list price of a thirty day supply of drugs provided through Medicaid or Medicare.

Some analysts have questioned whether adding list prices to adverts would be useful for patients, given that the list price is normally the starting point for a negotiation with payers and providers, and would likely not be the same as the product’s sticker price.