WASHINGTON -- Sen. Chuck Grassley and Sen. Herb Kohl are asking the federal government to move forward in implementing new physician payment sunshine provisions. The senators said some drug and medical device makers are preparing to meet the new requirements but in the absence of clear guidance from the federal government, are preparing payment data in non-uniform ways, causing the material to be difficult for the public to use.
Kohl is chairman of the Senate Special Committee on Aging and Grassley is ranking member of the Senate Committee on Finance. They sponsored the Physician Payment Sunshine Act, which became law as part of the health care overhaul enacted this year. The new provisions require drug and medical device manufacturers to disclose to the Department of Health and Human Services anything of value given to physicians, such as payments, gifts, honoraria or travel above certain minimum thresholds. The goal is to inform consumers in case they want to consider the role such payments or gifts play in the provision of medical care. The senators said the information will be collected in 2012 but some companies are preparing now, and greater guidance from the agency would help the utility of the information for the public.
The text of the senators` letter is available here.
