Court: Drugmakers don’t have to tell prices
WASHINGTON — In a major legal setback for President Donald Trump on a high-profile consumer issue, a federal appeals court has ruled that his administration lacks the legal authority to force drug companies to disclose prices in their TV ads.
The ruling denies Trump an easy-tounderstand win on a major reelection priority for the White House, bringing down the cost of prescription medicines. Where most plans to overhaul the cost of drugs are complex, mandating that companies disclose prices is something any consumer can relate to.
Separate from the court case, legislation that would lower drug costs for Medicare beneficiaries with high bills is stuck in Congress.
There’s also a separate bill that would require drug companies to disclose their prices in consumer advertising.
Trump, however, is not empty-handed. His administration recently brokered an agreement with drug companies and insurers that would give Medicare recipients taking insulin the ability to limit their copays to $35 a month, starting next year.
On TV ads, the unanimous decision by a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit did not address a core argument of the pharmaceutical industry, that forcing companies to disclose their prices in advertising violates their free speech rights.
Instead the three-judge panel ruled that the Department of Health and Human Services overstepped its legal authority by requiring disclosure under the umbrella of its stewardship of Medicare and Medicaid. The panel issued its decision Tuesday. In a scathing rebuke to the administration, Judge Patricia Millett wrote for the court that HHS “acted unreasonably” in asserting it had authority to impose “a sweeping disclosure requirement that is largely untethered to the actual administration of the Medicare or Medicaid programs.
Responding to the ruling, HHS spokesman Michael Caputo tweeted, “If the drug companies are embarrassed by their prices or afraid that the prices will scare patients away, they should lower them.”