Chip Parkinson on Direct-to-Patient's Big Year

Pharmaceutical Commerce continues its H1 Review/H2 Outlook series, checking in with industry experts on the forecasts they made earlier this year. This installment features Chip Parkinson, CEO of Gifthealth, in the first of a three-part video interview.

In January, Parkinson wrote for Pharmaceutical Commerce that mounting most-favored-nation pricing pressure and rising consumer expectations were pushing more manufacturers toward launching direct-to-patient platforms.

Six months later, Parkinson says three developments stand out from the first half of the year. The federal government entered the direct-to-patient arena for the first time: TrumpRx.gov launched in February, aggregating manufacturer discount platforms for cash-paying patients, and has since grown to 17 signed most-favored-nation pricing agreements with major manufacturers, up from five at launch, with generics recently added to the platform.¹ Parkinson calls the added price transparency significant, even as purchases still route through individual manufacturer websites rather than a single government storefront.

More consequential, in his view, was a Jan. 27 Special Advisory Bulletin from the HHS Office of Inspector General clarifying that manufacturers can sell discounted drugs directly to cash-paying Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries without necessarily triggering the federal Anti-Kickback Statute, so long as specific conditions are met.² That uncertainty, Parkinson notes, had kept many manufacturers on the sidelines of direct-to-patient sales.

The third shift: several major pharmaceutical companies have expanded their own direct-to-patient platforms since Parkinson last spoke with Pharmaceutical Commerce, moving beyond copay coupons to standalone cash-pay purchasing infrastructure built specifically around patients who benefit from paying out of pocket.

Pharmaceutical Commerce asked Parkinson to unpack what these three developments mean for patients and manufacturers heading into the second half of 2026.

References

1. The White House, "Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Launches TrumpRx.gov to Bring Lower Drug Prices to American Patients," Feb. 5, 2026. https://www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/2026/02/fact-sheet-president-donald-j-trump-launches-trumprx-gov-to-bring-lower-drug-prices-to-american-patients/

2. DLA Piper LLP, "OIG Issues Special Advisory Bulletin on Mitigating Anti-Kickback Risks in Direct-to-Consumer Prescription Drug Programs," accessed July 27, 2026. https://www.dlapiper.com/en-us/insights/publications/2026/01/oig-issues-special-advisory-bulletin