Both Parties Silent on Direct-to-Consumer Rx Ads

Democrats and Republicans are notably silent on one action that could help cut the cost of prescription drugs: a ban on direct-to-consumer advertising. Direct-to-consumer advertising is advertising for drugs or medical devices that is aimed at consumers instead of health care professionals. They are the ads that you see on TV or in magazines that tell you to "ask your doctor about X." The American Medical Association voted this past November in support of a ban on such advertising, claiming that it could help to reduce the price of prescription drugs. While they do not have direct regulatory power, the AMA speaks for the medical community; they are a large lobby and a well-respected voice on medical issues. Most countries ban this type of advertising (and it didn't exist in the U.S. until the early 1990s), so banning it stateside is not a radical notion. It is, however, a particularly challenging one in the current political climate.