State Senator Donald E. Williams, Jr.
April 28, 2009
Senate President, Attorney General, Patient Advocates and Physician Groups Want to Ban Drug Company Gifts to Doctors
Gift ban one of several bills Senate President is supporting that will lower health care costs and improve quality
Senate President Donald E. Williams, Jr. (D-Brooklyn) and Attorney General Richard Blumenthal were joined by patient advocates and doctors groups today in support of a legislative ban against gifts and other benefits provided by drug and medical device companies to doctors that may improperly influence health care decisions.
Those who turned out in support of the ban included Jean Rexford, executive director of the CT Center for Patient Safety; Lance Johnson of AARP Connecticut; Nitin Roper from American Medical Students Association; and Steve Smith of National Physicians Alliance.
Pharmaceutical drug companies spend more than $11 billion annually to market prescription drugs — most of it directed at health care providers. Research has repeatedly found that such gifts influence health care provider decisions.
The pharmaceutical industry, hospitals and physicians groups have adopted “codes of ethics” to prevent conflicts of interest — but these codes are virtually unenforceable and meaningless, and must be made law.
Blumenthal's office has ongoing lawsuits and investigations related to widespread conflicts of interest involving drug company gifts to health care providers.
Blumenthal said, “Drug money influence on medical treatment must be stopped. Drug company payments and gifts to doctors — free trips, ghostwriting payoffs, luxury outings and dinners, convention boondoggles — tend to improperly distort treatment decisions and diminish patient care.
Blumenthal said, “These payments raise the cost of health care, while reducing its quality. Consumers pay higher two ways: inflated drug prices and distorted medical decisions. My office is suing and investigating pharmaceutical companies that have collectively spent billions of dollars on payments and gifts to doctors, seeking to skew medical treatment choices. Pervasive drug company payments or gifts to doctors — whether by money, scholarships or luxury trips to conferences — cannot be justified by any educational or instructional purpose. They are unacceptable and should be made unlawful.”
Williams said, “As President Obama pushes health care reform in Washington, D.C. it is crucial that we take action in Hartford as well. We're working on a number of important health care bills which will lower costs and improve quality — and most importantly — are achievable even in these tough budgetary times. The gift ban is a simple step that we can take to improve our health care system and it doesn't require millions of dollars — just the strength to stand-up to special interests.”
Lembo said, “Healthcare is expensive enough as it is without continuing to allow pervasive marketing, data mining and secrecy in the pharmaceutical arena. Consumers are not in a position to debate the merits of the use of a particular medication with their providers. Consumers need to get the right care at the right time without having to battle undue influence over their providers. This kind of gift-giving is akin to the influence we've eliminated by prohibiting gifts from lobbyists and others to state employees. Such gifts can influence the actions of an employee — and physicians are not less susceptible to influence.”
Lance Q. Johnson, AARP Connecticut’s Health and Supportive Services Advocacy Lead, said, “It’s time to take the salesperson out of the doctor-patient relationship. Aggressive marketing by pharmaceutical companies unduly influences doctors’ prescribing decisions and drives up the cost of prescription drugs. Senate Bill 1049 will put an end to drug company ‘gifts’ to doctors and provide greater transparency for consumers. This legislation will help ensure that important healthcare decisions are made based on the best treatment available as determined by the patient and doctor, taking the pharmaceutical sales reps out of the equation.”
Specifically, the proposed pharmaceutical gift ban would:
- Prohibit gifts, scholarships or other items in exchange for prescribing products, a commitment to continue prescribing products or to otherwise interfere with the independence of a health care provider's prescribing practices;
- Prohibit any gifts for the personal use of a health care provider;
- Prohibit any gifts to a health care provider for business use except for items of minimal value such as post-its, note pads, etc;
- Limit gifts for patient benefit to free samples of prescription drugs and items valued under $100;
- Prohibit any gifts or payments to health care providers for attending conferences but allow financial sponsorship of such conferences if the benefit of the sponsorship is distributed evenly among all attendees through reduced conference fees;
- Regulate payments to health care providers to serve as consultants, requiring written contracts, documentation of the criteria and the selection process for such consultants, articulation of the legitimate need for such consultant services; and
- Require all recipients of scholarships and other financial educational assistance to be selected by the participating academic or training institution and not the pharmaceutical company.
|
Senator Williams’ |
Listing of Senator Williams’ recent press releases and a Press Kit with official head shots and bio. |
Press Aide Derek Slap |
