The Trump administration on Monday unveiled its latest proposal for reining in the cost of pharmaceuticals: requiring TV ads for prescription drugs to display the price of the medication being promoted. For the 10 drugs seen most often on TV, the administration says, those list prices range from $535 to a whopping $11,000 per month or per course of treatment.

Like the administration's other efforts to address this issue, the mandate is a small response to an enormous problem. The United States spends more per capita on prescription drugs — roughly half a trillion dollars a year — than any other country, and that spending has been increasing far faster than inflation, wages or the U.S. economy. The assumption behind the proposal is that forcing a pharmaceutical company to reveal the list price of the fabulous new cure it is touting will somehow shame it into keeping the price down.

Good luck with that. Although a handful of drugmakers have reduced or canceled price increases this year in response to President Donald Trump's criticism, most have not.

Some critics also argue that it would violate the free speech protections of the First Amendment to force drug companies to disclose their list prices. And drugmakers note correctly that very few people actually pay list prices.

To its credit, the administration has been actively trying to slow the rise of drug costs through an array of often down-in-the-weeds reforms. And in sharp contrast to what it has done on Obamacare, the administration's efforts to boost competition, alter incentives and increase transparency have generally helped consumers. But drugmakers are unusually well-insulated from the market forces the administration is trying to marshal — they have patents that guarantee them temporary monopolies, products that are vital and even lifesaving and customers whose bills are often paid by insurers. It will take much more dramatic changes to make a meaningful difference in drug prices.

FROM AN EDITORIAL IN THE LOS ANGELES TIMES