On May 9, 2023, the Maryland Supreme Court reversed a ruling by the Anne Arundel Circuit Court that Maryland’s tax on digital advertising was unconstitutional, saying the court lacked jurisdiction over the case. In an order, Chief Justice Matthew Fader punted the case back to the Anne Arundel County Circuit Court and ordered it to dismiss the case […]
Read more
Jan. 5, 2021 – The just-enacted COVID-19 relief bill may be a harbinger of what is to come in 2021 for drug pricing and marketing tax proposals, according to Coalition for Healthcare Communication Executive Director Jon Bigelow. In a memo to Coalition members and industry leaders, Bigelow noted that it had been fairly clear weeks […]
Read more Dec. 7, 2020 – President-elect Joe Biden announced on Dec. 7 his plans for filling key public health positions, including nominations for California Attorney General Xavier Becerra to be the next secretary of Health and Human Services and Dr. Rochelle Walensky, currently an infectious disease specialist at Massachusetts General Hospital, to become director of the […]
Read more
June 11, 2019 – Although pharmaceutical advertisers have been able to stop legislation to eliminate or reduce the deductibility of drug advertising as a business expense in the past, the times, politics and a pressing need for revenue have changed the equation, according to Jim Davidson, chair of The Advertising Coalition. “It is very much […]
Read more
April 23, 2019 — Will new FDA leadership drive to continue Dr. Gottlieb’s initiatives? Will they have the clout within the FDA, HHS, and Congress to do so? How will this affect health marketing and communications? Nancy Bradish Myers, president of Catalyst Healthcare Consulting and former president of the Alliance for a Stronger FDA, will […]
Read more March 25, 2019 – Several moves that could change the way prescription drug marketing and communications are conducted are being made in Washington, with the House Ways and Means Committee about to begin markup on a tax measure that could include eliminating the deductibility of drug marketing costs, and the Office of Management and Budget […]
Read more Jan. 16, 2019 – Sens. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) have co-authored a bill that would “deny the deduction for advertising and promotional expenses for prescription drugs.” The bill, announced Jan. 11, is titled the “End Taxpayer Subsidies for Drug Ads Act.” “This bill raises significant First Amendment questions,” pointed out Jon Bigelow, […]
Read more June 13, 2018 – At a Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions hearing on drug pricing held yesterday, Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Alex Azar told the committee that it is his belief that “we have the authority to require list price disclosure in TV ads,” as proposed in the […]
Read more
June 4, 2018 – The answer to the question of whether or not the presidency of Donald Trump has been good for the advertising business appears to mostly be a “yes,” according to 4As Executive Vice President of Government Relations Dick O’Brien, who spoke in Washington, D.C., at a recent session of the Coalition for […]
Read more March 1, 2018 – After filing an amendment to the tax bill last year to eliminate the tax deduction for drug marketing expenses — which did not move forward — Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) today announced a bill that would amend the tax code to “deny the deduction for advertising and promotional expenses for prescription […]
Read more