1、CRS Legal Sidebar Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress Legal SidebarLegal Sidebari i Drug Price Disclosures and the First Amendment Updated July 9, 2019 Update: On July 8, 2019, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia held that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS
2、) exceeded its statutory authority in promulgating its new rule on drug list price disclosures. As the court explained, “neither the Social Security Acts text, structure, nor context evince an intent by Congress to empower HHS to issue a rule that compels drug manufacturers to disclose list prices.
3、The Rule is therefore invalid.” The court ultimately vacated the rule. Because the court concluded that the agency lacked the statutory authority to issue the rule, the court did not evaluate whether the rule violated the First Amendment. HHS has not yet signaled whether it will appeal the decision.
4、 The original post from July 5, 2019 is below. On May 10, 2019, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) published a final rule that will require direct-to-consumer (DTC) television advertisements for certain prescription drugs and biologics to include the wholesale acquisition cost of cov