CMS Finalizes Drug Price Transparency Rule
By: Philip Qualo, J.D.
The Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) has finalized yet another rule demonstrating the agency’s commitment for greater transparency in the healthcare industry. On May 8, 2019, CMS finalized the “Regulation to Require Drug Pricing Transparency”, which will require prescription drug manufacturers to provide the Wholesale Acquisition Cost for their products in direct-to-consumer television advertisements. Under the final rule, drug makers will have to post the list price of a typical course of treatment for acute medications like antibiotics or for a 30-day supply of medications for chronic conditions. These consumer ads will be required to have a readable, text statement at the end to comply with the mandate.
The rule also requires the Health and Human Services (HHS) secretary to maintain a public list of drugs that violate the rule. Drugs with list prices under $35 per month will be exempt from the requirement.
CMS estimates that approximately 25 pharmaceutical companies will be affected by this rule, as they run an estimated 300 distinct pharmaceutical ads on television each quarter. Complying with the rule is expected to cost drug makers $5.2 million in its first year and $2.4 million in subsequent years.
The regulation, which was initially proposed in October 2018, has faced major opposition from drug manufacturers. On December 17, 2018, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) submitted comments in response to the then-proposed CMS rule arguing that disclosure of drug prices in television advertisements. PhRMA argued that the list price alone does not convey to patients meaningful information about how much they will actually pay for a medicine. Without providing additional context, such as a patient’s average, estimated, or typical out-of-pocket costs, disclosure of the list price in a direct-to-consumer advertisement could give patients the false impression that they are required to pay the full list price, rather than the copay or coinsurance that the patient is actually responsible for. They also argued that the new rule is unconstitutional on First Amendment grounds. Specifically, they believe that a government mandate on drug makers to disclose only the full list prices directly in their television ads would violate the First Amendment as "compelled speech."
One of the primary goals of this new regulation is to boost competition among drug manufacturers and provide them with incentives to lower their list prices. This transparency will also help gain more specific information for claim negotiations. Greater drug price transparency will also provide new cost containment opportunities for employers who sponsor self-funded health plans and their respective Pharmacy Benefit Managers. The final rule will go into effect 60 days after it is published in the Federal Register.