Drugmakers reveal list prices online after pressure from Trump
Houstonchronicle | April 19, 2019
The world's biggest pharmaceutical companies are revealing prices of their prescription drugs on websites for the first time in a bid to stave off pressure from the Trump administration to make even more public disclosures. The move by companies ranging from pharma giant Pfizer to biotechnology pioneer Amgen comes almost a year after President Donald Trump suggested in a blueprint for lowering medical costs that the government might require drugmakers to put list prices in their TV advertisements. When federal regulators officially proposed such a requirement in October, drugmakers protested. The industry's main trade association said the rule would give patients watching TV the false impression that they're required to pay the full price and that the ads would deter them from seeking treatment. The group also said the proposal would violate the First Amendment by compelling commercial speech.