Secretary Azar Praises New Drug Industry Steps on Transparency

Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar released the following statement on Johnson & Johnson’s decision to include the list price of its drugs in television advertisements:

“President Trump has put forth a plan for bringing unprecedented transparency and competition to the prescription drug market, which includes requiring the disclosure of list prices in television ads. We commend Johnson & Johnson for recognizing the value of informing consumers about list prices and for doing so voluntarily. We call on other manufacturers to follow their lead.

"Transparency around list prices is complemented by the President’s proposal last week to replace backdoor rebates with upfront discounts at the pharmacy counter. Before a patient is prescribed a drug, they deserve to know what that drug costs and what it will cost them. We will continue to take action to make that a reality.”

Read more about HHS’s recent proposal on upfront discounts. 

Read about the administration’s proposal to require list prices in television advertising.