Rep. DeLauro Introduces Bill to Ban DTC Ads
Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) has introduced HR 4565, a bill that would amend the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act to restrict direct-to-consumer (DTC) drug advertising. The measure was referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce which will consider it before sending it to the House floor for consideration. Delauro had introduced a similar bill in 2005, which was never enacted.
DeLauro has been an outspoken critic of the rapid rise in prescription drug costs. She is also part of a Congressional Affordable Drug Pricing Task Force calling for an investigation into the increasing cost of prescription drugs that have been on the market for years, as well as the “astronomical” cost of certain drugs for treating people with HIV/AIDS and hepatitis C.
In 2011, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) issued a brief about then-proposed moratoriums on DTC ads. It found the magnitude of any effects of a moratorium on such ads for newly approved drugs would probably be small because a small share of drugs would be affected. According to the CBO, the expected effects of a moratorium include:Drug manufacturers would probably expand their marketing to physicians to substitute for at least some of the banned advertising to consumers. The number of prescriptions filled would probably decrease for some drugs. For other drugs, the number of prescriptions might be little changed, owing both to the likely substitution of other types of promotions and to the various other factors that influence a drug’s reach in the prescription drug market.Any change in prescription drug prices would depend on changes in demand; to the extent that the effects on demand are likely to be limited, so too are the effects on prices.
Meanwhile, the American Medical Association (AMA) voted in November to support a ban on DTC advertising. AMA members said they were concerned about growing marketing budgets, with DTC advertising jumping 30% over the past two years to $4.5 billion, according to market research firm Kantar Media. Physicians cited concerns that a “growing proliferation of ads is driving demand for expensive treatments despite the clinical effectiveness of less costly alternatives,” an AMA release said at the time. “Today’s vote in support of an advertising ban reflects concerns among physicians about the negative impact of commercially-driven promotions, and the role that marketing costs play in fueling escalating drug prices. Direct-to-consumer advertising also inflates demand for new and more expensive drugs, even when these drugs may not be appropriate.”