An Interactive Look at Today’s Drug Pricing System
American Medical Association (AMA)
The Ask
Put a fresh take on a familiar issue.
The drug pricing negotiations that pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs), pharmaceutical companies and health insurers make can leave patients and physicians in the dark about how and why drug prices fluctuate year after year.
Of the prescription drugs that experienced list price increases from January 2022 to January 2023, 46 percent exceeded general inflation. When cost is a factor, 29 percent of adults report not taking their medicines as prescribed.
In 2016, the American Medical Association (AMA) launched the TruthinRx campaign to amplify the lack of transparency in the prescription drug pricing system and urge Congress to find meaningful solutions.
Fast forward to 2023. The “Prescription Pricing for the People Act,” the “Pharmacy Benefit Manager Transparency Act” and the “HELP Copays Act” gained increased bipartisan interest. AMA needed to be a part of the conversation and revamp the TruthinRx campaign to educate both policymakers and the patients that influence them about the role of the key players in today’s drug pricing system.
Strategic Approach
Created an interactive experience to help stakeholders better understand a complex health care challenge.
With the goals of strengthening awareness of the lack of drug pricing transparency and garnering support for key drug pricing legislation, AMA needed to reach audiences with a unique and refreshed take on an existing campaign.
Adfero worked with AMA to reboot TruthinRx.org and the TruthinRx campaign and create new features that provide audiences with a look into the challenges many Americans face when accessing prescription drugs.
Following months of strategic planning, Adfero developed and promoted Gaming the System, an interactive feature taking users on the path of a patient experiencing various hurdles and roadblocks to obtaining their medicine. Each user who plays the game ultimately loses—like many of America’s patients—due to factors such as high costs, pharmacies no longer being considered in-network or insurance plans no longer covering a prescription.
The team also published new educational materials across the site, including pages like The Games They Play and Terms of the Game, to further educate users on the broader drug pricing conversation.
Adfero helped AMA amplify the game and the various TruthinRx resources through a multi-phase campaign, with Phase 1 focused on educating and priming audiences for action, and Phase 2 encouraging users to take that action by experiencing the game, sharing their stories and messaging Congress. The team drafted compelling, informative copy and fresh video and static creative assets and utilized this content to promote TruthinRx through paid advertising on Hulu, Spotify, Facebook, Instagram, X, LinkedIn and YouTube, as well as mobile display advertising targeting audiences on Capitol Hill.
Impact
Drove actions in support of addressing a timely health care issue.
Adfero’s strategy and execution resulted in the successful creation of a fresh take on a familiar issue. Through an honest, daring and sharp voice, the revamped TruthinRx campaign informed audiences of the negative impact shady drug pricing negotiations have on the health of millions of Americans and mobilized audiences for action.
In the first year following the campaign’s reboot, TruthinRx.org received 191,000+ pageviews. Paid advertising campaigns across both phases of the approach garnered 34,583,000+ impressions, 508,200+ engagements and 85,900+ clicks to the various pages on TruthinRx.org. Additionally, videos developed for the campaign earned 218,500+ views on YouTube.
Want to experience today’s drug pricing system? Play Gaming the System.
