I just saw this http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3696824/posts
I bet the Merck board is jumping for joy over this/sarc
Remember Q’s references to Pharma?
Trump administration plans to require drug companies to include prices in ads
The Hill ^ | 10/15/18 | JESSIE HELLMANN
Posted on 10/15/2018, 1:49:37 PM by yesthatjallen
Drug companies would be required to include list prices in advertisements under a Trump administration proposal released Monday.
The proposed rule, announced by Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar Monday, is the next step in the administration’s efforts to bring down drug prices.
“Patients deserve to know what a given drug will cost when they’re being told about the benefits and risks it may have,” Azar said during a speech Monday in Washington D.C.
“And they deserve to know when a drug company has pushed its prices to abusive levels, and they deserve to know this every time they see a drug advertised to them on TV.”
The pharmaceutical industry opposes the proposal, arguing it would confuse consumers because a drug’s list price is often lower than what the patient will actually pay.
PhRMA, the deep-pocketed trade group representing pharmaceutical companies in the U.S., tried getting ahead of Azar’s announcement, telling reporters Monday morning that its members would begin directing patients to more information about drug costs in television ads.
Every ad mentioning a prescription drug by name will include a voiceover or text telling patients to go to a company-sponsored website where they can find information about the list price, as well as a range of potential out-of-pocket costs and potential patient assistance.
“We want patients to have more cost information and support using direct-to-consumer advertising,” said PhRMA President Steven Ubl, but “just including list prices is not sufficient and would be misleading.”
Azar noted PhRMA’s plan in his speech Monday afternoon, but said it doesn’t go far enough.
“It is no coincidence that the industry announced a new initiative today that will help make price and cost information more accessible,” Azar said.
“We appreciate their effort. The placing information on a website is not the same as putting it in an ad.”
I wish Q would tell us more on the Pharma issues but in the meantime the news this past week about Merck increasing their market for the HORRIFIC Gardisil shot should wake some people up. It is KILLING & PARALYZING young people yet they just step up their marketing and sell more. Trump announcing the plan to have Pharma be more open about drug costs may be just the tip of the iceberg on what we are about to see them bring up regarding transparency and patient information.
There is a lot of good information through the link, and I encourage everyone to know about this evil drug. Make sure it isn’t given to your kids/grandkids. http://vaccineimpact.com/2018/fda-approves-dangerous-gardasil-vaccine-for-adults-in-the-u-s/
by Brian Shilhavy
Editor, Health Impact News
“Following a June, 2018 “Priority Review” by the FDA to approve Merck’s Gardasil 9 vaccine to be expanded to women and men, ages 27 to 45, after 10 years of the FDA denying Merck’s request to expand the Gardasil market to adults, the FDA approved Gardasil 9 to be expanded to adults, aged 27 to 45, on October 8, 2018.
Granting approval to a vaccine after a “Priority Review” by the FDA in only 3 months is a “fast nod” according to FiercePharma, the market trade publication of the pharmaceutical industry.
Merck did not even have to supply any new trials or data to get the vaccine approved for adults, in spite of the fact that the FDA denied their request for 10 years on the older Gardasil vaccine.”
Great news.
It would be nice if other medical costs were more transparent, too. You go to the doctor and have no idea - ZERO - how much it’s going to cost until you get the bill. Imagine going grocery shopping and having no idea what the food costs until you’re in the checkout line.
I wonder how the drug ads are going to sidestep the costs. Maybe they’ll tell you what a dose costs, but not tell you that you need 100 doses?