Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Senate Approves Bill That Lifts Gag Clauses Preventing Pharmacists From Discussing Drug Prices
The Senate on Monday overwhelmingly passed a bill that would let pharmacists inform consumers when it’s cheaper to buy a drug without insurance, as lawmakers inched closer to delivering the Trump administration a win — albeit a small one — in the effort to lower drug prices. So-called gag clauses prevent a pharmacist from telling consumers when their insurance co-pay is higher than the cash price for a drug. The administration has sought to outlaw the clauses, and its push to do so is one of the few ideas in its drug pricing plan to advance so far in Congress. (Florko, 9/17)
"By ensuring pharmacists can provide their customers with all the information - even the information Big Pharma doesn't want them to know - we can save Ohioans money, improve health care, and increase transparency in the pharmaceutical industry," said a statement from Ohio Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown, who cosponsored the bill. (Eaton, 9/17)
And in other drug pricing news from Capitol Hill —
Prescription Drug Watch: For news on rising drug costs, check out our weekly roundup of news coverageÌý²¹²Ô»å perspectives of the issue.
Drug-pricing advocates are launching a six-figure ad campaign to try to stop Congress from rolling back a move targeting drug companies. The ads from Patients for Affordable Drugs Now seek to counteract an aggressive lobbying push by drug companies to undo a change from February that shifted billions of dollars in new costs onto them. (Sullivan, 9/18)
