Herb Kohl

Democrats work to impose limits on MD-owned hospitals

Mon, 09 Jun 2008 06:59:56 -0400

Three times in the last 10 months, both levels of Congress have attempted to impose new limits on physician ownership of hospitals, but failed to close the deal. Now, Democrats in Congress are making another effort to do just that--while allowing a select few hospitals to escape the limits they have planned for the rest of the bunch. The current legislation being considered by the Senate generally prevents doctor-owned hospitals from expanding their capacity by adding beds or operating rooms, though it does offer some narrow exceptions based on local population growth and ratio of hospital beds to population.

Among the hospitals that would get a break from planned legislation include Wenatchee Valley Medical Center, whose dispensation was snared by Senator Patty Murray of Washington, a member of the Appropriations Committee. Meanwhile, Senator Herb Kohl (D-WI) got the Senate to agree to language that would help out Aurora BayCare Medical Center in Green Bay--notably by allowing it to build a new cardiac Catha lab.

To learn more about the legislative battle:
- read this article from The New York Times

Drug companies plan to disclose grant funding

Fri, 11 Apr 2008 06:59:58 -0400

Hoping to stave off outside regulation by Congress, a group of the nation's largest drug and device manufacturers have put forth plans to publicly disclose the grants they make to outside organizations. In a recent letter to 15 such companies, Sen Chuck Grassley (R-IA) noted that Eli Lilly already discloses the grants it makes for continuing medical education programs, and asked them to explain why they weren't making similar efforts.

In response to Grassley's letter, virtually all of the companies outlined disclosure plans, though the plans differ in the details. For example, Medtronic said it will post payments for professional meetings and patient groups on its site beginning May 1, and AstraZeneca will follow its lead starting Aug. 1. Boston Scientific, for its part, said it would soon disclose certain payments to physicians, a particularly newsworthy concession. The only holdout was Schering-Plough, which told Grassley that it didn't have plans to publish its charitable contributions anytime soon.

Sen. Grassley, along with Sen. Herb Kohl (D-WI) already have introduced legislation that would require drug and device makers to disclose anything of value given to doctors, including not only payments, but also gifts and travel. However, they're really hoping to see these industries disclose medical education payments, too.

To learn more about the drug and device makers' plans:
- read this Associated Press piece

Related Articles:
Senate investigates pharma influence on CME
Case study: NY hospital drops pharma CME funding
SPOTLIGHT: Pharma's influence in continuing medical education.
Doctors weigh in on the pros and cons of accepting drug/device freebies

Bill would make pharmas, device makers disclose gifts

Tue, 18 Mar 2008 07:59:58 -0400

A measure that would force pharmaceutical companies and medical device makers to disclose gifts valued at more than $25 seems to be gathering momentum. Reps. Peter DeFazio (D-OR) and Pete Stark (D-CA) have introduced a bill that would set such a rule. It follows a companion bill sponsored by Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Herb Kohl (D-WI), which in its case, would require companies with at least $100 million in annual revenue to disclose gifts of more than $25, which then would be posted on a website. In the Senate version, companies would also have to disclose payments for continuing medical education.

With sponsors from both sides of Congress, and terms that seem relatively complementary, it looks like this measure has decent prospects. Let's see if PhRMA can pry both the House and the Senate off of this one.

To learn more about these measures:
- read this Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report piece

Related Articles:
Psychiatrists getting largest pharma gifts. Report
NY bill would require pharmas to report MD gifts. Report
Doctors weigh in on pros and cons of accepting drug/device freebies. Letters
States tighten screws on pharma marketers. Report

Senators plan bill countering pharma detailing tactics

Fri, 14 Mar 2008 07:59:58 -0400

Across the country, on an ad-hoc basis, isolated programs already have sprung up to counter tactics used by pharma sales reps to sell drugs. Now, Senators are considering a bill that would offer "academic detailing" programs nationwide to offer neutral information to physicians that counters the hype provided by reps. Senate Special Committee on Aging Chair Herb Kohl (D-WI) plans to introduce legislation this year, in cooperation with Sen. Richard Durbin (D-IL) that would create grant programs to fund counterdetailing programs. One grant program would help to create training materials that would further educate doctors on the comparative effectiveness and safety profiles for various common medications. Another would send specially-trained healthcare professionals to physician offices to offer fresh, neutral information sources on prescribing options.

To learn more about the proposal:
- read this Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report item

Related Articles:
Trend: States try to counter pharma drug marketing. Report
'Counter-detailers' offer drug info alternative. Report