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Ahead of potential regulation, Johnson & Johnson will include the list and potential out-of-pocket prices of the drugs it sells in television commercials, beginning with Xarelto (rivaroxaban):
Johnson & Johnson said on Thursday it will start adding the price of its medicines to television commercials by next month, becoming the first drugmaker to heed a call by U.S. President Donald Trump for price transparency of drugs advertised directly to consumers on TV.
The healthcare conglomerate said it will include both the list price of a product - the price before any rebates or discounts to insurers or pharmacy benefit managers - as well as potential out-of-pocket costs that patients will pay.
The move, announced in a statement on J&J's website, won swift praise from U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar. Last May, Azar's office released a blueprint for reducing the cost of drug prices, which included a proposal to require disclosure of list prices in TV ads for drugs.
[...] Republican Senator Chuck Grassley, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, and Democratic Senator Ron Wyden, ranking member of the committee, on Monday invited executives from seven pharmaceutical companies, including J&J, to testify at a Feb. 26 hearing on rising drug prices.
Also at MarketWatch.
(Score: 4, Insightful) by istartedi on Saturday February 09 2019, @07:58AM (2 children)
Yay for price transparency. Boo that they advertise prescription drugs directly to consumers in the first place.
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(Score: 4, Interesting) by Runaway1956 on Saturday February 09 2019, @07:03PM (1 child)
Agreed. Dude gets on television, and praises some drug as curing everything from hangovers to radiation sickness, polio, measles, mumps, and twelve kinds of cancer (everything except the cold, or flue). "Ask your doctor if Virgin Mary's Cureall is right for you!" So, the next time you have a hangnail, you ask the doctor about Virgin Mary's Cureall. Doc knows he can only make a hundred dollars or so on your hangnail, so he's happy to prescribe VMC to you, and adding another $75 to your bill, AND pocket $50 kickback from the VMC sales guy.
(Score: 2) by istartedi on Saturday February 09 2019, @07:30PM
The ones that really get me are the cancer drugs. I just picture a scene like: "Yeah, I know this is the Mayo Clinic and you're one of a few dozen oncologists who have handled a case like mine, but do you think Tumoraway would help?". face palm.
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