HHS advances proposal that could require prices be included in drug ads - STAT

HHS advances proposal that could require prices be included in drug ads - STAT

HHS advances proposal that could require prices be included in drug ads

By IKE SWETLITZ @ikeswetlitz

AUGUST 23, 2018

HHS Secretary Alex AzarMARK WILSON/GETTY IMAGES

Senate joins push to require prices in drug ads

The Senate has voted to give HHS at least $1 million to come up with regulations that would require prescription drug ads to include information about the medicine’s price. The rundown:

• The details: Lawmakers agreed to tack the provision on to a major spending bill, which they passed yesterday.
• The caveat: But it’s still not clear whether the measure will make it to the president’s desk, since the House is working on its own bill. Separately, HHS is pushing its own version of the pricing policy.
• Elsewhere on Capitol Hill: President Trump's pick to run the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy found himself in the hot seat yesterday testifying before the Senate commerce committee. When asked about how he’ll advocate for science in an administration that has been skeptical and, at times, openly hostile to science, Kelvin Droegemeier responded: “I agree that all the things you mentioned are challenges and problems, and science has to be done with integrity."