We’ve all seen the commercials. Someone is paddleboarding. Someone else is fly fishing. A golden retriever is contractually required to appear.

What many Americans don’t realize is that the United States is one of only two countries in the world that allows pharmaceutical companies to advertise prescription drugs directly to consumers.

Drug companies spend billions of dollars every year on these ads for one reason: they work.

Pillar 6: Rein in Big Pharma’s direct-to-consumer advertisements that drive up costs and mislead patients.

As PCMA’s Head of Research, Amanda Frost, PhD, writes, “there were 1.35 million drug commercials aired in 2025. And these commercials have real impact.” She goes on explain how those flashy ads turn into expensive drugs:

“Research shows that consumers who watch these ads are more likely to ask their doctors to prescribe those same drugs, whether they need it or not. And those doctors, in turn, become more likely to prescribe the asked about drugs to those patients. Academics, clinicians, and policymakers have long worried about the pathway created here.”

So what can policymakers do to ensure that health care decisions are driven by doctors and patients, not advertising executives who convinced America that diamonds equal love?

• Increase oversight of telehealth and marketing platforms used to steer patients toward specific brand-name drugs.
• Consider limits on advertising newly approved drugs until more real-world safety and effectiveness data is available.
• Protect consumers by increasing transparency, including requiring list prices in ads and disclosing how pharmaceutical companies target and track patients online.

The Bottom Line: Affordable health care starts when patients get facts, not sales pitches.

Read the five things you need to know about misleading drug ads HERE and download our full explainer HERE.

Dive deeper into PCMA’s Path to Patient Affordability and explore all six pillars HERE.