# Plain Prescription Prices Act Summary

When you watch TV, you've probably seen those ads for prescription medications with a fast-talking narrator listing side effects. This bill would require those same ads to also display the actual price of the drug in clear text on your screen. Right now, pharmaceutical companies can advertise their medications directly to consumers without telling them what the drugs cost, which means you might see an ad for a medication and have no idea whether it costs $50 or $500 per month until you talk to your doctor or pharmacist.

The bill specifically targets TV advertisements (including cable, streaming, and satellite) for prescription drugs and biological products that Medicare or Medicaid covers. The price shown would be the "list price"—basically the standard starting price before insurance discounts kick in—for a typical 30-day supply or course of treatment. This information would need to be displayed as text on the screen and would be updated quarterly to reflect current prices. The goal is straightforward: give people honest, upfront information about medication costs so they can make more informed decisions about their health and have realistic conversations with their doctors.

The bill gives the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) one year to write the specific rules about how this would work, including deciding whether the requirement should expand beyond TV ads to other advertising formats, determining exactly how the price information should be displayed, and figuring out how to enforce these new requirements. Essentially, this is about transparency—making sure that when pharmaceutical companies try to convince you to ask your doctor about a drug, you also know what that drug actually costs.

Plain Prescription Prices Act

Rep. Williams, Nikema [D-GA-5]

Plain Prescription Prices Act This bill requires the Centers for Medicare &amp; Medicaid Services to issue a rule requiring direct-to-consumer television advertisements for prescription drugs that are covered by Medicare or Medicaid to include a textual statement of the drug's list price.