Federal court puts kibosh on Trump plan for drug prices in TV ads

A federal judge has blown a hole in an attempt by the Trump administration to force drugmakers to put the list prices of their medicines in TV advertising. The measure – which had been due to come into effect just a few hours after the verdict – would have required the wholesale acquisition price (WAC) of any medicine that costs more than $35 per month to be revealed during the commercial, in the hope of shaming drugmakers into lowering their process. The pharma industry has insisted that it is unfair as the list price does not take into account discounts or rebates that might be offered, did not give a reflection of patient out-of-pocket costs, and that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) overstepped its regulatory powers in ordering the move. This week, District Judge Amit Mehta, presiding over a court in Washington, DC, agreed and in a ruling called an immediate halt to the initiative. In the judgment, Mehta wrote that the policy “could very well be an effective tool in halting the rising cost of prescription drugs. But no matter how vexing the problem of spiralling drug costs may be, HHS cannot do more than what Congress has authorised.”