CWAG, AARP and WIARA to Fight Influence of the Pharmaceutical Industry

State Legislative Public Hearing on Rx Reform in Wisconsin

You are invited to join us in supporting proposed prescription drug reform legislation at the upcoming informational legislative hearing on:

Wednesday, May 26th 2010
10AM - 12:30PM

State Capitol Building - 417 North GAR Hall
Madison, WI

(Madison, WI) - On the morning of Wednesday, May 26^th (10:00 am to 12:30PM), CWAG, AARP Wisconsin, Wisconsin Alliance of Retired Americans (WIARA) and other consumer health care advocates and medical health care professionals will propose four separate pieces of prescription drug reform legislation that will be heard at a joint public hearing of the Wisconsin Senate and Assembly Health Care Committees.  National experts and consumers will also testify about how prescription drug reform legislation has successfully worked in other states and lowered prescription drug costs.

"Frustration about the pharmaceutical and medical device industries sales and marketing practices is at an all-time high," said Nino Amato, President of the Coalition of Wisconsin Aging Groups, who directs the work and advocacy of the coalition.  "Wisconsin's consumers, doctors, health care providers and policymakers believe that there must be something done to curb the influence of the pharmaceutical and medical device companies on health care decision in Wisconsin and the United States," said Amato.

According to the New England Journal of Medicine, more than 90% of physicians have some financial relationship with the pharmaceutical and medical device industries.  "Pharmaceutical companies spend more money on sales and marketing than they do on research and development," said Billy Feitlinger, Executive Director of the Wisconsin Alliance of Retired Americans.

Spending on direct TV advertising, sales and marketing, promotional gifts and entertainment by the pharmaceutical industry is estimated at nearly $30 billion - much of it directed at consumers who prescribe medications.  CWAG, AARP and WIARA are working to reduce the current conflicts of interest and to make sure that Wisconsin patients and consumers get the highest quality prescriptions available by giving doctors nonbiased prescription drug research information.

"Based on national research, too many conflicts of interest exist between the pharmaceutical and medical device industries and physicians, undermining evidence based health care decisions and contributing to the skyrocketing costs of prescription drugs." said D'Anna Bowman, State Director of AARP Wisconsin.

 CWAG, AARP and WIARA believe that no one should come between health care decisions made between doctors and patients - certainly not the pharmaceutical and medical device lobbyists and their public relation and advertising firms.

The four separate pieces of prescription drug reform legislation that will be proposed at the May 26^th hearing are:

·         Legislation that will ban gifts and entertainment to health care providers from pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers and improve transparency and reporting laws that more clearly define relationships between health care providers and the pharmaceutical and medical device industries. 
 

·         Public transparency for all pharmaceutical and medical device educational and financial grants that are given to University of Wisconsin facility and researchers.  The University of Wisconsin System would be required to publish quarterly on their website, all education and financial grant information from pharmaceutical and medical device companies.  This information would also be mailed to the news media and made available to the general public upon request.

·         Legislation to establish an "academic detailing" program to give physicians nonbiased information to make the best and most cost-effective decision about prescriptions, using an evidence-based prescription drug computerized data base.  Health care providers and doctors would be able to access this information, which would improve their health care decision, made between them and their patients.

·         Legislation that will prohibit pharmaceutical and medical device companies from buying doctors' prescribing records and using the information to target their sales and marketing strategies to individual doctors.  This would prohibit Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Data Mining in Wisconsin.

Please join us at the State Capitol on May 26^th from 10:00 am until 12:30PM and register in favor of the four separate proposals on prescription drug reform. 

If you would like to attend the hearing, please call Jennifer Hanner at the Coalition of Wisconsin Aging Groups for more details:  (608)221-6139 or toll free at (800)366-2990 ext. 346.

 If you are unable to attend but would like to voice your opinion, please reply back to this email with your name, address and contact information with a short note indicating that you are in support of the above four pieces of legislation that would bring down drug costs for individuals, government entities and health care providers.