What’s the point of putting drug prices in TV ads?

If you tell patients that a drug costs more than $15,000 a month, they’re significantly less likely to want it, according to a new study. But if you tell them they might be able to get it for free, their feelings are quite different.

That may seem intuitive to the point of being a waste of everyone’s time, but here’s why it’s interesting: The Trump administration has proposed requiring drug makers to put wholesale prices in commercials, and the study, published in JAMA Internal Medicine, suggests that such a policy would discourage patients from asking their doctors about treatments they might need.

But is that what the White House wants? The stated purpose of the policy is to encourage drug companies to lower prices, and a major drop in patient demand could conceivably lead to that. But in the meantime, there’s the possibility that patients who would never pay that $15,000 figure (thanks to insurance and rebates) will be frightened away from drugs they both need and can afford.