BIG PHARMA WATCH: BRAND NAME DRUG COMPANIES SHAMELESSLY SKIRT STATE TRANSPARENCY LAWS

Congressional Action Needed to Shine a Light on Big Pharma’s Egregious Pricing Tactics & Hold the Industry Accountable

In yet another example of the lengths Big Pharma will go to evade responsibility and keep prices high, a new analysis from Bloomberg Law reveals that efforts to reign in out-of-control prescription drug prices on the state-level are not working as intended because Big Pharma refuses to comply – claiming confidentiality under federal law.

At least 11 states have laws requiring manufacturers to provide data on drugs’ costs, warnings before some prices increase, and justifications for changes. But many companies are complying only partly or not at all, saying the information is confidential under federal law, and some of the laws have few or no enforcement powers, Bloomberg Law found.

This latest evidence underscores the urgent need for lawmakers to act at the federal level to pass bipartisan, market-based solutions to boost transparency and hold brand name drug companies accountable for their egregious pricing practices.

By failing to disclose how and why they raise prices, brand name drug makers are free to repeatedly hike prices without justification and without facing public scrutiny. In fact, a recent study found Big Pharma hiked prices on seven of the most widely prescribed drugs in 2017 and 2018 with no evidence the drugs had been improved – resulting in $5.1 billion in increased costs to patients and health plans.

Increasing list price transparency is a market-based solution that will help lower prescription drug prices by giving patients greater information to make informed decisions, showing policymakers where drug makers’ pricing practices are most egregious and serving as a deterrent by shining a light on Big Pharma’s price-gouging practices.

Learn more about bipartisan, market-based solutions to lower prescription drug prices HERE.

Read Bloomberg Law’s full analysis HERE.