MRA Tackles Pharma Incentive Bills in Three More States

In the US, lobbying by the Marketing Research Association (MRA) has helped quash proposed legislation in Maryland, Rhode Island and Mississippi that would have required public reporting or banning of survey research incentives for healthcare practitioners.

After communication with the MRA, the sponsors of bills in Maryland agreed to withdraw two pieces of legislation, one of which explicitly included survey research incentives in reporting requirements.

MRA lobbying in Mississippi helped convince legislators in the State House to defeat a bill in committee which the association said was one of the most expansive it has seen, requiring public reporting for research incentives to any physician, nurse practitioner or their immediate family members that originated from pharmaceutical manufacturers.

Rhode Island's bill would have banned gifts to health care practitioners from pharma firms, including survey research incentives of any dollar amount. Again, communication from MRA helped convince supporters to withdraw the legislation.

The successes in Maryland, Mississippi and Rhode Island follow MRA's defeat of similar bills in New Mexico, reported earlier this month.

LaToya Lang, MRA's State Legislative Director, commented that, 'with more and more states attempting to restrict or publicly disclose research incentives for health care practitioners, MRA values every win we can get.'

Web site: www.mra-net.org .

All articles 2006-23 written and edited by Mel Crowther and/or Nick Thomas, 2024- by Nick Thomas, unless otherwise stated.