The Physician Payments Sunshine Act: The Insights Industry Position Howard Fienberg Government Affairs 10/28/2014 2:13:00 PM On August 1, 2013, the first reporting period under the Physician Payment Sunshine Act began. Part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (aka, “Obamacare”), it requires pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers to publicly report many types of payments made to physicians, which will be public. The Sunshine Act was intended to bring transparency to these relationships, to minimize manufacturers’ influence on physicians’ prescribing behavior. Read More
Researcher’s testimony secures crucial amendment for research profession in Washington State Howard Fienberg Government Affairs 3/1/2013 8:45:00 AM Thanks to help from researcher Vera Cooley, the Washington State House Committee on Finance amended legislation before passage on February 28, preventing a detrimental impact on the survey, opinion and marketing research profession. Read More
Vera Cooley, MRA Member, Testifies Against Washington H.B. 1440 Howard Fienberg Government Affairs 2/18/2013 8:39:00 AM Independent marketing research professional Vera Cooley testified yesterday in defense of respondent incentives at a state legislative committee hearing. Read More
Respondent Incentives Would Be Extremely Difficult to Offer in Washington State Under H.B. 1440 Howard Fienberg Government Affairs 2/14/2013 8:26:00 AM Legislation in the Washington State House could cripple survey, opinion and marketing research involving respondent incentives by creating the presumption that anyone receiving remuneration for services is an employee. Read More
Final Physician Payments Sunshine Act Rules Released Howard Fienberg Government Affairs 2/2/2013 2:56:00 PM The final Sunshine Act rules explicitly carved out marketing research incentives for physician respondents. CASRO filed comments and MRA lobbied via contacts in Congress. The result caps a 5-year MRA campaign. Read More
Coalition of Researchers and Data Users Urge White House Support for Survey Incentives Howard Fienberg Government Affairs 6/27/2012 3:20:00 PM A coalition of research associations and professional societies today called upon the Obama Administration to defend the use of respondent incentives in federal surveys. Read More
Legislation Introduced to Protect Marketing Research Companies from Unfair Labor Department Actions Howard Fienberg Government Affairs 6/10/2012 1:27:00 PM Representative Mike Kelly (R-PA-03) has introduced the Research Fairness Act (H.R. 5915) in the U.S. Congress to prevent marketing research participants from being treated as employees of research companies. Read More
Pharma MR wins in Maine and DC but loses in Vermont Howard Fienberg Government Affairs 8/28/2011 9:33:00 AM Recent wins for pharmaceutical marketing research in Maine and DC leave only West Virginia and Vermont as the jurisdictions currently restricting or prohibiting research with physicians and healthcare professionals. Read More
MRA testifies on Vermont S. 104 seeking to legalize research with physicians Howard Fienberg Government Affairs 4/20/2011 9:55:00 AM MRA testified this morning on legislation in the Vermont legislature, S. 104, which would legalize research with physicians. Read More
Bill in Maryland Amended to Exempt Pharma MR Incentives for Doctors - H.B. 818 Howard Fienberg Government Affairs 3/3/2011 5:24:00 PM MRA convinced a state legislator to exempt respondent incentives for marketing research from his legislation, which would have banned most payments from pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers to health care professionals. Read More