Appeals court says Trump administration can’t force drugmakers to disclose prices

A federal appeals court ruled against the Trump administration on Wednesday, finding that it does not have the legal authority to mandate that drug manufacturers display the prices of their medicines in television advertisements.

The Associated Press reported that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled unanimously against the administration, finding that the Department of Health and Human Services’s rule was unlawful in its scope.

The rule, Judge Patricia Millett wrote in her opinion, is “a sweeping disclosure requirement that is largely untethered to the actual administration of the Medicare or Medicaid programs.”

“Because there is no reasoned statutory basis for its far-flung reach and misaligned obligations, the disclosure rule is invalid and is hereby set aside,” she continued.

The court’s ruling is a blow to the White House’s efforts to drive down prescription drug prices, a key issue cited by Americans in an election year. White House spokesman Judd Deere fired back in a statement to the AP, accusing the court of being part of the “D.C. Swamp.”

“It makes absolutely no sense to keep patients in the dark on the true cost of care, and only the ‘D.C. Swamp’ would support such a thing. While big pharma will do everything they can to avoid even a conversation on their astronomical list prices, President Trump remains committed to making pricing information available prior to the delivery of care,” Deere said.

The president previously vowed to sign a bipartisan bill to reduce prescription drug prices during his 2020 State of the Union address.

“I am calling for bipartisan legislation that achieves the goal of dramatically lowering prescription drug prices,” he said in February. “Get a bill to my desk, and I will sign it into law without delay.”