Senators Seek Accelerated HHS Action on Physician Payment "Sunshine Act" Provisions
Senators Chuck Grassley and Herb Kohl have asked HHS Secretary Sebelius to take a number of steps to prepare for implementation of the ACA’s Physician Payments Sunshine Act provisions, under which drug and medical device manufacturers must disclose to HHS certain payments to physicians. The Senators note that some drug and medical device makers are preparing to meet the new requirements, but in the absence of clear guidance from the federal government, they are preparing payment data in non-uniform ways that is making it difficult for consumers to use. The senators cited the need for federal guidance “to ensure the same information is disclosed in the same way, and is meaningful.” To that end, they requested that HHS promptly designate an agency to oversee the creation and operation of the database and to report to them on the Department’s implementation timeline.
