AHA expresses support for Drug-Price Transparency for Consumers Act

The AHA July 2 expressed support for the Drug-Price Transparency for Consumers Act of 2021 (S.2304). 
 
“America’s hospitals and health systems are supportive of your legislation enabling the Department of Health and Human Services to require the disclosure of drug pricing information in direct-to-consumer advertising,” AHA wrote to the bill’s sponsors Sens. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, and Richard Durbin, D-Ill. “DTC advertising has the potential to lead to high-cost prescription drugs’ overutilization, even when lower cost, equally effective options may be available. This practice of DTC advertising, is contributing to the unsustainable rate of growth in prescription drug spending, which annually consumes an increasingly large portion of health care dollars. Not only is requiring disclosure of drug pricing information in DTC advertising an important step in lowering the overall cost of prescription drugs, but it also will provide consumers with useful information as they engage in discussions with their providers about the best treatment options for their individual health care needs.”