Not surprisingly, cost matters when it comes to drugs being advertised to consumers, a new study finds. The report, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association's (JAMA) Internal Medicine, examined how consumers would react to direct-to-consumer (DTC) television ads by drug manufacturers, if prices for the drugs were included.

“In the 'American Patients First' blueprint released in May 2018, the Trump administration proposed including the drug price in any direct-to-consumer pharmaceutical advertising as an approach to lower prescription drug prices,” the report's authors wrote. “In October 2018, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services proposed requiring that television [DTC pharmaceutical advertising] disclose drug prices. We conducted a behavioral experiment to understand how consumers are likely to respond to price disclosure.”

DTC ads have been controversial—the U.S. is one of two countries in the world (along with New Zealand) to allow drug ads that make claims about products. Since changes to U.S. regulations in the '90s, pharmaceutical manufacturers have spent billions annually on advertising drugs. With the Trump Administration's proposal likely to be finalized this year, the study looked at how that information might affect consumer choices.

The randomized study involved nearly 600 patients and asked them to respond as if they had been recently diagnosed with type-2 diabetes. They then viewed one of five drug ads: A control advertisement that didn't disclose the drug's price, an ad that disclosed a $50 per month price with a modifier, an ad with a $50 per month price without a modifier, an ad with a $15,500 per month price with a modifier, and an ad with the high cost of $15,500 without a modifier. The “modifier” ads included a statement that eligible patients might be able to get the drug for free.

The participants then answered a questionnaire asking how likely they were to take the drug, research the drug, ask their provider about the drug, or ask their insurance company about the drug.

The result showed that consumers were less likely to be interested in the drug with the higher price tag. The study participants who saw the lower-priced ads said they were likely to research the drug, ask about it, or take it when the price was $50 per month.

For the higher-priced drug, the participants were less likely to research the drug, ask about the drug, or take the drug. However, the study found the modifier did make a difference; consumers were more interested in the higher-priced drug when that language was included in the ad.

The study also found that the participants did not perceive that the lower price drug was significantly less effective than the higher-priced drug.

“Our results suggest that requiring pharmaceutical companies to disclose the price in [DTC advertising] can be potentially effective in reducing consumer interest in high-priced drugs, but the inclusion of modifiers in these disclosures can reduce or eliminate the influence of disclosure,” the researchers said.

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TV list prices for drugs could be a turnoff for consumers, study says

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