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March 25, 2008 (MediaWire PRESS RELEASE) - Washington DC
NAPSRx® to work with PhRMA to engage reps to oppose (Federal) Physician Payment Sunshine Act
and the (Massachusetts) State Senate Bill

The NAPSRx®, a 48,000 member pharmaceutical sales rep association, has joined a coalition with the PhRMA to oppose some State and Federal bills that have recently been introduced. The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) represents the country's leading pharmaceutical research and biotechnology companies, which are devoted to inventing medicines that allow patients to live longer, healthier, and more productive lives. PhRMA companies are leading the way in the search for new cures. PhRMA members alone invested an estimated $43 billion in 2006 in discovering and developing new medicines. Industry-wide research and investment reached a record $55.2 billion in 2006. PhRMA's mission is to conduct effective advocacy for public policies that encourage discovery of important new medicines for patients by pharmaceutical/biotechnology research companies.

We are encouraging the NAPSRx® pharmaceutical sales representative members to get involved and voice their opinions to their congressman. The 2 associations are planning an April State Senate visit and encourage reps to get involved. The below two issues are of importance of which the NAPSRx® and PhRMA are opposing:

(Federal) S. 2029: Physician Payments Sunshine Act of 2007
A bill to amend title XI of the Social Security Act to provide for transparency in the relationship between physicians and manufacturers of drugs, devices, or medical supplies for which payment is made under Medicare, Medicaid, or SCHIP.

9/6/2007--Introduced.
The "Physician Payments Sunshine Act" (S. 2029) was introduced earlier this month in the U. S. Senate by Senators Grassley, Kohl, Kennedy, McCaskill, Schumer, and Klobuchar. The bill amends Title XI of the Social Security Act to "provide for transparency" in the relationship between physicians and manufacturers of drugs, devices, or medical supplies for which payment is made under Medicaid, Medicare or SCHIP. The bill has been referred to the Senate Committee on Finance.

The bill requires drug and device manufacturers to disclose to the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), on a quarterly basis, anything of value given to physicians, such as payments, gifts, honoraria, or travel. It only applies to companies with annual revenues over $100 million dollars. The required disclosure must include the physician's name, the value and date of the payment or gift, its purpose, and what, if anything was received in exchange. The bill then requires HHS to make the information available to the public through a searchable website.

State of Massachusetts:
Senate No. 2526 Talking Points Regarding Gift Ban

An Act to Promote Cost Containment, Transparency and Efficiency in the Delivery of Quality HealthCare

We would like to engage MA employees to reach out to their Representative and Senator opposing the gift ban in Senate Bill 2526. Attached are talking points on the bill. In addition, below are two links:

1. This link is to the Secretary of State Election Division website. Please complete name and address and your State Representative and State Senator will be listed.

2. This link is to the General Court website. On the left side of the page, please see "House" and "Senate". Click either one for a full list of Representatives and Senators long with their addresses and phone numbers.

If you have questions or need help in reaching out to you local Senators please email or call the NAPSRX at questions@napsronline.org or (800) 913-0701 x104. We have information on how and who to write to from PhRMA.

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