DTC Advertising Informs Consumers about New Medications, Saves Them Money, Op-Ed States

Direct-to-consumer prescription drug advertising "does a lot of good, and practically none of the harm that opponents charge," John Calfee, a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, writes in a Knight Ridder/Charlotte Observer opinion piece. Calfee points out that DTC ads help inform patients about new prescription drugs on the market. For example, he cites a CDC report that found less than 50% of individuals with HIV take treatments required to prevent the onset of AIDS. According to Calfee, "DTC ads for HIV-suppressing drugs help to get the word to those missing patients." Calfee adds that studies have found DTC advertising "actually saves consumers money" by "alerting them to the benefits of new medicines that prolong and enhance life and reduce hospital stays." He also criticizes a proposal by Rep. Bill Thomas (R-Calif.) that would require Medicare beneficiaries to "pay higher prices for advertised drugs" as part of a prescription drug benefit under the program (Calfee, Knight Ridder/Charlotte Observer, 3/17). Under the proposal, Medicare beneficiaries would have to pay a "very low charge" for generic drugs, a small copayment for unadvertised brand-name drugs and the largest copayment for advertised brand-name drugs (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 3/6). Thomas has said that DTC ads increase prescription drug prices and "induce patients to take drugs that they should avoid," but according to Calfee, the FDA has said "repeatedly" that "dangerous or unnecessary prescribing ... is extremely rare." Calfee concludes, "With so much to be gained from drug ads, it is odd to see Congress focusing myopically on the downsides" (Knight Ridder/Charlotte Observer, 3/17).