Just hours before the regulation was set to go into effect, a federal judge ruled on Monday that the Trump administration does not have the legal authority to require pharmaceutical companies to disclose drug prices in television ads. Merck & Co., Eli Lilly and Co., and Amgen Inc. argued that by being forced to state the prices, their right to free speech was being violated. U.S. District Judge Amit Mehta in Washington, D.C., said in a 27-page ruling that the "policy very well could be an effective tool in halting the rising cost of prescription drugs. But no matter how vexing the problem of spiraling drug costs may be, HHS cannot do more than what Congress has authorized. The responsibility rests with Congress to act in the first instance."

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