A health reform proposal presented today to members of the Senate Finance Committee would bring new transparency to financial relationships between drug or device companies and the medical profession.
A form of the Physician Payments Sunshine Act was included in a widely-circulated plan that Sen. Finance Chair Max Baucus sent to committee members today ahead of a meeting with the “Group of Six,” the cadre of lead committee negotiators on health care reform.
Baucus’ plan calls for drug, device and biologic companies to report, with limited exceptions, payments made to physicians and teaching hospitals, which would be posted in a public and searchable format. Companies would be required to report drug samples as well, though that information would not be made public.
“The plan, described as a “framework for consideration,” is the first concrete and comprehensive proposal to come out of the bipartisan talks, which have been ongoing since the spring,” according to Politico.
This blog will provide more detail on the transparency proposals as soon as they become available.