SKIMMERS SUMMARY:

• According to a GAO Report “Medicare Parts B and D and beneficiaries spent $560 billion on drugs from 2016 through 2018, $324 billion of which was spent on advertised drug”.
• GAO’s review of four advertised drugs found that drug manufacturers changed their DTCA spending during key events, such as increasing spending when a drug was approved to treat additional conditions or decreasing spending following the approval of generic versions.
• The report fails to acknowledge the role of HCPs in prescribing medications and empowered patients who may have been educated by DTC ads.
• This report is going to lead to more calls to limit DTC advertising.