,,ii #aafth ,,congress #ast ,session ,s4 #adcg ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,may #ac1 #bjai,mr4 ,durbin 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,grassley1 ,mr4 ,king1 and ,mr4 ,alexander7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,finance ,a ,,bill ,to amend title ,,xi of the ,social ,security ,act to require that direct-to-consumer advertisements for prescription drugs and biological products include truthful and non-misleading pricing information4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,drug-price ,transparency in ,communications 7,,dtc7 ,act4 #b4 ,findings ,congress finds the following3 7#a7 ,direct-to-consumer advertising of prescription pharmaceuticals is legally permitted in only #b developed countries1 the ,united ,states and ,new ,zealand4 7#b7 ,in #bjah1 pharmaceutical ad spending exceeded #f1jdf1jjj1jjj1 a #d4h-percent increase over #bjag1 resulting in the average ,american seeing #i drug advertisements per day4 7#c7 ,in #bjae1 pharmaceutical companies spent more than #ajj1jjj1jjj on advertising with respect to each of the #af most advertised brand-name drugs and biological products1 primarily new and relatively high-cost medications4 7#d7 ,the #aj most commonly advertised drugs have list prices ranging from #ece to #aa1jjj per #cj-;day supply or usual course of therapy4 7#e7 ,according to a #bjaa ,congressional ,budget ,office report1 direct-to-consumer advertising is used to promote only a small set of specific drugs1 typically the expensive1 brand-name medications4 ,and the top-selling drugs in any given year are frequently among the drugs with the largest expenditures for direct-to-consumer advertising4 7#f7 ,according to a #bjaa ,congressional ,budget ,office report1 pharmaceutical manufacturers advertise their products directly to consumers in an attempt to boost demand for their products and thereby raise the price that consumers are willing to pay1 increase the quantity of drugs sold1 or achieve some combination of the two4 7#g7 ,studies show that patients are more likely to ask their doctor for a specific medication and for the doctor to write a prescription for it1 if a patient has seen an advertisement for such medication1 regardless of whether the medication is clinically appropriate for the patient or whether a lower-cost generic may be available4 7#h7 ,according to a #bjaa ,congressional ,budget ,office report1 the average number of prescriptions written for newly approved brand-name drugs with direct-to-consumer advertising was #i times greater than the average number of prescriptions written for newly approved brand-name drugs without direct-to-consumer advertising4 7#i7 ,approximately half of ,americans have high-deductible health plans1 under which they often pay the list price of a drug until their insurance deductible is met4 ,all of the top ,medicare prescription drug plans use coinsurance rather than fixed-dollar copayments for medications on nonpreferred drug tiers4 7#aj7 ,the ,centers for ,medicare ,medicaid ,services is the single largest drug payer in the ,nation4 ,drug price inflation accounts for a significant portion of the #bb-percent1 #cb-percent1 and #db-percent growth in ,medicare parts ,d and ,b and ,medicaid expenditures1 respectively1 on a per beneficiary basis between #bjac and #bjaf4 7#aa7 ,the #bj most advertised drugs on television cost ,medicare and ,medicaid a combined #bd1jjj1jjj1jjj in #bjag4 7#ab7 ,price shopping is the mark of rational economic behavior1 and markets operate more efficiently when consumers have relevant information about a product1 including its price1 before making an informed decision about whether to buy that product4 7#ac7 ,the ,american ,medical ,association has passed resolutions supporting the requirement for price transparency in any direct-to-consumer advertising4 7#ad7 ,the ,kaiser ,family ,foundation found that #hh percent of the public favors the ,federal ,government requiring prescription drug advertisements to include a statement on how much the drug costs4 7#ae7 ,pursuant to its existing authority under sections #aajb and #ahga of the ,social ,security ,act1 on ,may #aj1 #bjai1 the ,centers for ,medicare ,medicaid ,services published regulations 7subpart ,l of part #djc of title #db1 ,code of ,federal ,regulations7 to require direct-to-consumer television advertisements of prescription drugs and biological products for which payment is available through or under ,medicare or ,medicaid to include the wholesale acquisition cost of that drug or biological product4 7#af7 ,to support the permanence and clarity of this policy1 and to facilitate future planning1 ,congress finds a benefit to codifying such regulation4 #c4 ,requirement that direct-to-consumer advertisements for prescription drugs and biological products include truthful and non-misleading pricing information ,part ,a of title ,,xi of the ,social ,security ,act is amended by adding at the end the following new section3 #aaej;,c4 ,requirement that direct-to-consumer advertisements for prescription drugs and biological products include truthful and non-misleading pricing information 7a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary shall require that each direct-to-consumer advertisement for a prescription drug or biological product for which payment is available under title ,,xviii or ,,xix includes an appropriate disclosure of truthful and non-misleading pricing information with respect to the drug or product4 7b7 ,determination by ,,cms ,the ,secretary1 acting through the ,administrator of the ,centers for ,medicare ,medicaid ,services1 shall determine the components of the requirement under subsection 7a71 such as the forms of advertising1 the manner of disclosure1 the price point listing1 and the price information for disclosure4 4