EXCLUSIVE – A bipartisan pair of House lawmakers are pressing for more price transparency for prescription drugs, introducing a bill on Thursday that would require pharmaceutical companies to disclose their cost in all direct-to-consumer advertising.

The Drug-Price Transparency for Consumers Act of 2025, sponsored by Reps. Dave Taylor (R-OH) and Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), would cover pharmaceutical advertising across TV, magazine, and social media, a change the lawmakers say is necessary to lower drug costs. The bill is identical to one introduced in the Senate by Sens. Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) earlier this year. 

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“The price of medicine should not be a secret,” Taylor said. “Disclosing the price of prescription drugs in advertisements will empower patients to make informed decisions and ultimately lead to lower health care costs. Not only will it increase competition, it will ultimately empower Americans to make the best decisions for their health and budget.”

Pharmaceutical companies spent nearly $14 million on direct-to-consumer drug advertising in the U.S. in 2023, according to a report from the bipartisan Campaign for Sustainable Rx Pricing, which has endorsed the legislation.  

“For years, Big Pharma has poured billions of dollars into advertisements to push overpriced prescription drugs on consumers. The United States is one of just two countries in the world that allow pharmaceutical companies to advertise directly to patients. These heavily advertised drugs are often some of the most expensive on the market, driving huge costs on patients,” said Schakowsky. “Consumers deserve to know the price of a product before they buy it.”

Direct-to-consumer advertisements, which are only allowed in two developed countries, the U.S. and New Zealand, help increase drug companies’ profit margins, as Americans are more likely to ask their doctors to prescribe them a medicine if they have seen the advertisements.

A Government Accountability Office report conducted from 2016 to 2018 found that Medicare spent $320 billion on drugs that were directly advertised to Americans.

Under the bill, the Social Security Act would be amended to require advertisements for prescription medications and biological products to “clearly and conspicuously disclose the wholesale acquisition cost for a 30-day supply.”

The legislation also states that any manufacturer or agent of a manufacturer who violates the new rule would be forced to pay $100,000 for each violation.

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Drug pricing has been under increased scrutiny under both the Trump and Biden administrations, including changes to cap insulin copays. Most recently, President Donald Trump signed an executive order in May to force drugmakers to lower the cost of prescription drugs in the U.S. in the next 30 days. 

If companies do not lower their prices by the 30-day deadline, Trump has directed Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to create a new rule to fix the price the U.S. pays for drugs to prices paid by other countries.

“We’re going to equalize,” Trump said during a press conference last month. “We’re all going to pay the same. We’re going to pay what Europe pays.”

Rep. David Taylor's bill to amend Social Security Act by web-producers on Scribd