They’re calling it the “No Handouts For Drug Advertisements Act.” It’s a bi-partisan bill in Congress to end the tax deduction for those pesky drug ads you see on television and social media…and hear on the radio. Specifically, the bill ends a tax loophole that subsidizes ads for the pharmaceutical companies, the cost of which are passed on to the consumer.
The bill is sponsored by Sen. Jeanne Shaheed, a Democrat from New Hampshire and Sen. Josh Hawley, a Republican from Missouri.
A 2021 analysis by the Government Accountability Office found nearly all direct-to-consumer ads were purchased for brand-name drugs, about 2/3 of which were pushing 39 drugs. That’s associated with up to a 2.3% increase in the price of the medications.
