The New Jersey Attorney General's Office is proposing new regulations that would sharply curtail money and gifts health care providers may receive from pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturing companies.

The office's Division of Consumer Affairs announced the proposed new rules on Oct. 6. The division is accepting public comments through Dec. 1 and holding a public hearing at its Newark offices on Oct. 29.

In a statement, the office cited a “disturbing” trend in which health care professionals—doctors, nurse practitioners, dentists and others—are seeing increases in pay and gifts to promote the sale of their products.

There is a “concern that these relationships influence prescriber treatment decisions,” the statement said.

The office cited a 2017 report by the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

From 2013 to 2016, health care professionals in New Jersey received $69 million from drug and device manufacturers, according to a summary of the report included with the rule proposal. Two-thirds of that went to 300 of the top 30,000 doctors listed in that report, in a median amount of $62,500. And 39 doctors received at least $200,000, the summary said.

The current regulations governing the acceptance of money and gifts were written in 1992 and are now considered too broad, the statement said.

“Given the exponential growth in the amount of money that is being paid to prescribers, the Attorney General believes that the time is ripe to strengthen and clarify the existing limitations … and extend those strengthened standards to all prescribers to better address the economic realities of the current healthcare marketplace,” the statement said.

The proposed rules, according to the statement, are based on ethics guidelines issued by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America.

Among other things, the proposed rules recommend that remuneration be capped at $10,000 per year for health care professionals, a limit that would extend to their immediate families. The cap would not apply to health care professionals employed directly by pharmaceuticals or device manufacturers.

Other gifts, such as meals, should be kept to “modest” regional standards, the proposal urges.

Pharmaceuticals and manufacturers would still be encouraged to pass along free samples of drugs or devices, which in turn can be given to patients.

“The proposed new rules will … have a positive social impact on prescribers by providing clear guidelines as to the compensation they may accept … and to minimize the potential for conflicts of interest,” the statement said.

The Medical Society of New Jersey is the lobbying organization that represents most doctors in the state. Its offices were closed Monday, and a representative could not be reached for comment.

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