Thread by @ASlavitt

NEWS: HHS Secretary @SecAzar said today he intends to require pharma cos to disclose prices in their ads.

While it won’t help millions of Americans afford their drugs, will it shame companies that continually raise prices to absurd levels... ? 1/ hhs.gov/about/leadersh…

Start with why do US taxpayers subsidize Pharma TV ads to the tune of $6 billion every year? 2/

newspressnow.com/news/local_new…

Then ask yourself if the price of the drug is read at the speed of all the side effects or shoved in the corner, will it matter?

How this is implemented is important. 3/

I would add that Americans are paying 10x more for many drugs than they cost in other countries & 1 in 4 say they can’t afford their prescriptions.

Small solutions like this will not make a material difference in people’s lives compared to bigger solutions... 4/

I’d like to see a focus on:

-patent abuses
-making sure hidden rebates make it to the consumer
-using at least the muscle the VA uses to negotiate prices for Medicare beneficiaries
-if US prices are materially above others, allow reimportation
-allow states to negotiate
5/

My biggest concern is that we must treat this like a crisis millions face today or it will have the flavor of an election year issue with more rhetoric than impact. 6/

I do know that Azar faced opposition within the Administration & pharma to accept a more watered down compromise and he didn’t buckle.

Important for people like me to give credit to Alex when it is due.

But Americans want transformation not tweaks here & we need to step up./end