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takyon [soylentnews.org] writes:

Ahead of potential regulation, Johnson & Johnson will include the list and potential out-of-pocket prices [reuters.com] 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 [marketwatch.com].

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