WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Today, Rep. Pete Stark (D-CA), Ranking Democrat on the Ways and Means Health Subcommittee, introduced the “Prescription Drug Safety and Affordability Act,” which would eliminate the tax deductions that drug companies currently receive for gifts they give to physicians to influence prescribing behavior.
“Corruption is no more appropriate in the halls of our nation’s hospitals than it is in the halls of Congress,” Rep. Stark said. “Taxpayers should not pick up the tab for drug industry lobbying that corrupts the doctor-patient relationship. When doctors are influenced to prescribe the wrong drugs, people die.”
The same drug companies that spend millions lobbying Congress simultaneously spend billions lavishing doctors with fancy dinners, free ‘educational’ trips to plush resorts, and huge ‘consulting’ deals. According to a November 2005 survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation and excepting the value of drug samples, pharmaceutical firms spent nearly $8 billion in 2004 on incentives for doctors, or about $10,000 per physician.
“My bill denies tax deductions to pharmaceutical companies for wasteful spending on perks and potentially illegal kickbacks,” Stark said. “Instead of wining and dining doctors, this legislation would encourage drug companies to lower drug prices and conduct additional research.”
The need for action is clear. As drug companies increase spending on “lobbying” campaigns, prescription drug prices continue to skyrocket. From 1997 to 2004, pharmaceutical firms doubled spending on marketing to physicians, even as drug prices increased by an average of 8.3% a year from 1994 to 2004, more than triple the average annual rate of inflation.
“The Hippocratic Oath compels doctors to act in the best interests of their patients,” Stark said. “As Congress investigates its own ethics, it should also review immoral relationships between the pharmaceutical industry and physicians.”
