Grassley set to introduce industry/physician disclosure bill

Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said that he would introduce legislation that would require drug makers to make public those payments they make to any physician who bills Medicare and Medicaid programs, according to The New York Times. The move on the federal level echoes legislation already enacted in several states.

The senator said that he contacted universities that require academic researchers to disclose industry payments and found that they did not verify the payment amounts researchers claimed; nor did they make the information public. According to The New York Times other lawmakers support the enactment of a federal registry for disclosure of industry-physician relationships.