Senators Blumenthal and Grassley Ask CMS to Continue Funding Open Payments

In a letter to Acting Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Eric D. Hargan, United States Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) ask HHS to prioritize funding for the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ Center for Program Integrity (CPI), a program that enhances transparency in transactions between medical providers and pharmaceutical companies. The CPI’s Open Payments database, created under the bipartisan Physician Payments Sunshine Act, mandates disclosure of billions of dollars in payments from manufacturers to prescribers and hospitals. This is of concern at a time when over-prescribing of opioid medications has exacerbated a public health crisis nationwide. “As part of your ongoing commitment to the mission of CPI, we encourage you to continue to prioritize funding and administration of the Open Payments database,” wrote the Senators.  The letter also references “[r]ecent reports [that] have raised concerns about the effect payments to health professionals may have on opioid prescribing practices, which in many ways has exacerbated this ongoing public health epidemic. Pending litigation against a fentanyl manufacturer has revealed instances of regular weekly contact with high-volume prescribers, in addition to a large number of total payments.” In their letter, the Senators acknowledge often, “relationships between academic medicine and industry are necessary and beneficial,” but ...
Source: Policy and Medicine - Category: American Health Authors: Source Type: blogs