Drug Company Advertising
Senator Franken introduced the Protecting Americans from Drug Marketing Act to take a small but significant step toward reining in unnecessary health care costs.
Right now, the federal government gives pharmaceutical companies a tax break every time you see a drug advertisement on TV – and for every free mug your doctor receives that has a pharmaceutical company logo on it. These tax breaks add up to billions of dollars of lost revenue for the federal government. This legislation will remove these unfair tax benefits so pharmaceutical companies can focus their dollars on developing new drugs, not excessive marketing schemes.
Nationwide, prescription drug spending rose 500% between 2000 and 2005, from $40 billion to $200.7 billion per year. But while costs to patients are growing exponentially, the pharmaceutical industry is spending an astonishing $30 billion annually on marketing. Of course, these companies have the right to advertise. But taxpayers shouldn’t be subsidizing these expenses.
