Physician Payments Sunshine Act: Healthcare reform ups the ante on transparency

New House bill would require pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device companies to report spending on broad range of health professionals and organizations.

Key highlights include:

  • The new House provisions are stricter than the previous Senate proposal.
  • The new bill significantly broadens the definition of covered recipients to include physicians, pharmacists, pharmacies, hospitals, group purchasing organizations, health insurers, researchers, medical schools, advocacy groups, and others.
  • Any spending of more than $5 must be reported. The House bill, like its Senate counterpart, does not preempt existing state laws.
  • The reporting deadline remains early 2011.