US Senators Grassley and Kohl urge action on Sunshine Law regarding industry relations with physicians

US Senators Chuck Grassley (Republican, Iowa) and Herb Kohl (Democrat, Wisconsin) are pressing the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on missing a deadline for drafting regulations for the Physician Payment Sunshine Act (Sunshine Act), a new law requiring public disclosure of the financial relationships between physicians and the pharmaceutical, medical device and biologics industries.

“Prompt federal guidance is urgently needed to ensure a smooth path toward increasing disclosure, eliminating conflicts and ultimately providing patients with the tools they need to make informed health choices,” Sens Grassley and Kohl wrote in a letter to CMS Administrator Donald Berwick.

The Sunshine Act requires manufacturers to report all payments to physicians, including consulting fees, honoraria, travel and entertainment, and for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to publicly disclose the identity of the manufacturer, physician, and the drug or device associated with the payment on the internet. Additionally, the law requires manufacturers and group purchasing organizations (GPOs) to report all ownership or investment interests held by physicians or members of their family, and for making that information public. The law required HHS to establish guidance on how manufacturers submit information and how the information would be made available to the public no later than October 1, 2011.