From Flo To Pro: PhRMA Medicare Ad Theme For 2002 Is “Now’s The Time”

The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America is launching a new ad campaign declaring that "now's the time" to create a Medicare prescription drug benefit.

The campaign emphasizes the industry's support for prescription drug coverage at a time when the debate over the cost of the benefit appears to have nixed any chance for legislation to move this year.

President Bush has set aside $190 bil. in the budget for a 10-year drug plan and House Republicans are considering a $300 bil. plan. Some Democrats and AARP have said $750 bil. will be needed to provide a meaningful benefit (¹ (Also see "AARP Medicare Rx “Reserve” Proposal Seeks To Bypass Cost Debate" - Pink Sheet, 4 Mar, 2002.), p. 16).

The 30-second TV ad shows images of senior citizens participating in different activities, with a voice over saying, "at America's pharmaceutical companies, we believe that all Americans, young and old, deserve the medicines that help them have longer, healthier lives."

A pharmaceutical company researcher then appears, saying "the right medicine can make all the difference."

The voice over resumes: "That's why we support a Medicare drug benefit. One that lets seniors choose the plan and the coverage that's right for them, with access to the best medicines."

"If a medicine can restore health or improve a life," the researcher says, "a person who needs it should have it." The ad closes with an image of the PhRMA logo and a two-line slug: "Medicare Drug Coverage/Now's the Time."

The print ad has a close-up portrait of a elderly man. In the upper right corner of the photo, the ad says "Prescription Drug Coverage for Seniors?" then adds below the photo "Now's the Time!"

The ad's text elaborates on some of PhRMA's positions on a Medicare Rx benefit.

"What is the measure of a meaningful benefit?" the ad says. "It must provide choice...fully assist the poorest seniors...spur competition...include access to all medicines...foster, not frustrate, drug research...and permit those seniors who already have drug coverage - to keep it."

While most of those measures are in line with what Republicans have endorsed, the call to "include access to all medicines" could be a cause for concern for some Republicans.

Rep. Bill Thomas (R-Calif.), who is expected to be one of the primary sponsors of Medicare legislation in the House in 2002, advocates allowing pharmacy benefit managers to use all the tools they use in the private sector, including formularies, to help control drug costs in Medicare.

PhRMA said it is planning a similar campaign for national and local markets. The ads were created by the New York firm Sawyer Miller.

With much of the current debate focusing on the size of the drug benefit, the launch of PhRMA's "now's the time" campaign identifies the group as supportive of a drug benefit while avoiding public opposition to any specific proposal.

The television and print ads, which began running March 6 in the Washington, D.C. area, are the association's first direct effort to influence the Medicare debate through advertising since it backed the Citizens for Better Medicare "Flo" ads in 1999.

The Flo campaign's tagline - "I don't want big government in my medicine cabinet!" - left the perception that the pharmaceutical industry was opposed to a Medicare drug benefit. President Clinton cited the ads as a key reason no action was taken on a drug benefit that year (² , p. 28).

The Citizens for Better Medicare web site claims the group "has successfully steered the Medicare reform debate away from a one-size-fits-all big government plan - and toward a market-based solution," although at the time the ads appeared, the chances of passing the Democrats' plan were already slim.

Citizen's for Better Medicare continues to maintain its web site and still lists PhRMA as a member.