Massachusetts Democratic Gubernatorial Candidate Proposes Requiring Drug Companies to Disclose Gifts to Doctors

Massachusetts gubernatorial candidate Steve Grossman (D) has proposed a plan that would require pharmaceutical companies to publicly disclose the names of doctors who accept gifts valued at $25 or more, the Boston Globe reports. Grossman modeled the plan after a Vermont law enacted in June. Under the law, the state can fine drug makers as much as $10,000 for each unreported gift to doctors valued at more than $25. Lawmakers in Massachusetts, Maine, New York and Wisconsin have introduced similar legislation. "The public has a right to know who's spending the money and who's receiving it. It is affecting decisions that are costing people a lot of money and possibly affecting care," Grossman said. Democratic rival Robert Reich, a former U.S. secretary of labor, has called for an "outright ban" on gifts from pharmaceutical companies to doctors, the Globe reports (Barnard, Boston Globe, 6/30).