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California Senate Passes Bill Banning Drug Company Gifts to Doctors

24-5-2017 < SGT Report 116 267 words
 

by Mike Barrett, Natural Society:


On May 18, the California Senate passed a bill that would ban pharmaceutical companies from giving gifts to doctors. The Senate voted 23-13 in favor of sending the bill to the Assembly. [1]


For the bill, SB 790, California lawmakers used a similar 2009 Vermont law enacted in 2009 as a template.


If the bill is signed into law, doctors would no longer be able to receive perks, such as airline tickets and lavish meals, from drug companies. According to Sen. Mike McGuire, the bill would lower healthcare costs, in part because doctors who receive gifts are more likely to prescribe costly drugs. [2]



Drug companies unload more than $1.4 billion a year on California doctors in the hopes they will promote and prescribe their products, said McGuire, a Democrat who represents a district west of Sacramento.


McGuire said that in 2014, doctors in his state received more gifts and payments from pharmaceutical companies than in doctors any other state. [3]


Read: Need a Link Between Federal Reps and Drug Companies? Here it is


“While we have witnessed the cost of drugs rise over the past decade, industry profits have also grown significantly. We should be all standing for seniors and taxpayers to drive down the cost of prescription drugs.” [1]



According to a recent study by researchers at UC San Francisco, doctors who receive gifts from drug companies are 2 to 3 times more likely to prescribe name-brand drugs over cheaper, generic drugs. [2]


Read More @ NaturalSociety.com

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