Bill in Maryland Amended to Exempt Pharma MR Incentives for Doctors - H.B. 818 - Articles

Articles

03Mar

Bill in Maryland Amended to Exempt Pharma MR Incentives for Doctors - H.B. 818

Maryland Delegate Nic Kipke (R-31) withdrew H.B. 818, which would have banned most payments from pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers to health care professionals, likely including incentives for participation in marketing research.

MRA Action

MRA testified on this bill on March 3 at a hearing of the House Healthcare and Government Operations Committee in Annapolis.

After extensive discussions with MRA, Delegate Kipke had agreed to amend H.B. 818 to exclude, “Payments to health care professionals for participation in bona fide marketing research conducted by a third party, where such payments are made by that third party and the sponsoring manufacturer is unaware of the identify of the participating health care professionals.”

The amendment would have defined “bona fide marketing research” to mean “the collection and analysis of data regarding opinions, needs, awareness, knowledge, views and behaviors of a population, through the administration of surveys, interviews, focus groups, polls, observation, or other research methodologies, in which no sales, promotional or marketing efforts are involved and through which there is no attempt to influence a participant’s attitudes or behavior.”

Conclusion

Since this amendment would have protected incentives for research with health care professionals, MRA supported H.B. 818 as amended. We will continue to work with Delegate Kipke should he return to working on this sort of legislation in the future.

About the Author

Howard Fienberg

Howard Fienberg

Based in Washington, DC, Howard is the Insights Association's lobbyist for the marketing research and data analytics industry, focusing primarily on consumer privacy and data security, the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA), tort reform, and the funding and integrity of the decennial Census and the American Community Survey (ACS). Howard has more than two decades of public policy experience. Before the Insights Association, he worked in Congress as senior legislative staffer for then-Representatives Christopher Cox (CA-48) and Cliff Stearns (FL-06). He also served more than four years with a science policy think tank, working to improve the understanding of scientific and social research and methodology among journalists and policymakers. Howard is also co-director of The Census Project, a 900+ member coalition in support of a fair and accurate Census and ACS. He has also served previously on the Board of Directors for the National Institute for Lobbying and Ethics and and the Association of Government Relations Professionals. Howard has an MA International Relations from the University of Essex in England and a BA Honors Political Studies from Trent University in Canada, and has obtained the Certified Association Executive (CAE), Professional Lobbying Certificate (PLC) and the Public Policy Certificate (PPC). When not running advocacy for the Insights Association, Howard enjoys hockey, NFL football, sci-fi and horror movies, playing with his dog, and spending time with family and friends.

Attachments

  1. kipke_pharma_mr_amendment_2011.pdf 6/28/2022 9:25:53 PM

Related

IA Statement on Confirmation of OMB Director Russ Vought

IA Statement on Confirmation of OMB Director Russ Vought

The Insights Association, the leading nonprofit organization representing the market research and an...

Read More >
Fighting for You: January 2025 Legislative and Regulatory Update

Fighting for You: January 2025 Legislative and Regulatory Update

The insights industry began the first month of 2025 with an eye on a comprehensive federal privacy l...

Read More >
FTC Promotes Unionization of Research Subjects

FTC Promotes Unionization of Research Subjects

A new policy statement from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) encourages organizing of independent ...

Read More >
Fighting for You: December 2024 Legislative and Regulatory Update

Fighting for You: December 2024 Legislative and Regulatory Update

While northerly climes were frosting over at the tail end of 2024, the Insights Association took a s...

Read More >
President Trump 2.0 Nominations and the Insights Industry

President Trump 2.0 Nominations and the Insights Industry

Donald Trump will once again be sworn in as President on January 20, 2025. Here are some of the key ...

Read More >
Artificial Intelligence 2024 Year-End Legislative Update

Artificial Intelligence 2024 Year-End Legislative Update

2024 featured some impactful new state laws impacting the insights industry’s use of artificial int...

Read More >
Members only Article - Please login to view