March 8, 2018
The Honorable Claire McCaskill
United States Senate
503 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC, 20510
Dear Senator McCaskill:
We welcome the Patient Advocacy Transparency Act, which will expand the Physician
Payments Sunshine Act to include disclosure of pharmaceutical and medical device company
payments to advocacy organizations, professional societies, and other third
parties. Pharmaceutical and medical device companies spend enormous sums of
money influencing physicians’ prescribing habits, but they also fund patient advocacy groups,
professional organizations, public relations firms, and medical education and communication
companies.
The vast majority of health-oriented non-profit groups are industry-funded. Industry spends tens
of millions of dollars annually on influencing non-profit groups to support activities that can
influence drug policy, support high prices, and help create, expand, or maintain the market for
specific drugs. Industry-funded nonprofit groups associated with the Pain Care Forum, for
example, opposed state measures aimed at restricting opioid prescriptions.
Currently, non-profit groups are not legally required to disclose how much money they receive
from industry, or which companies fund them (a few voluntarily disclose payments). It is vital
for consumers, journalists, researchers, and policymakers to know which pharmaceutical
companies support which groups – and how much money they give. This legislation will
provide the public with a powerful tool to ensure that advocacy groups and professional
associations serve the public interest. The undersigned groups and individuals enthusiastically
support the Patient Advocacy Transparency Act.
Sincerely,
| Diana Zuckerman, PhD National Center for Health Research |
Adriane Fugh-Berman, MD PharmedOut, Georgetown University Medical Center |
| Vikas Saini, MD Right Care Alliance |
Peter Lurie, MD, MPH Center for Science in the Public Interest |
| James Rickert, MD Society for Patient Centered Orthopedics |
Julie Childers Our Bodies Ourselves |
| Andrew Kolodny, MD Physicians for Responsible Opioid Prescribing |
Matthew Petty Physicians for a National Health Program |
| Fiona Godlee, MD The BMJ |
Michael Carome, MD Public Citizen |
| Susan Wood, PhD Jacobs Institute, The George Washington University |
Manan Trivedi, MD, MPP National Physicians Alliance |
| Karuna Jaggar Breast Cancer Action |
Fran Quigley, JD People of Faith for Access to Medicine |
| Judy Rummler FED UP! Coalition to End the Opioid Epidemic |
John T. James, PhD Patient Safety America |
| Cindy Pearson National Women’s Health Network |
April Rovero National Coalition Against Prescription Drug Abuse |
| Ed Weisbart, MD Physicians for a National Health Program, Missouri Chapter |
Cara Spencer Consumers Council of Missouri |