AG Proposes Stricter Limits on Pay, Gifts to Doctors From Pharma and Device Makers
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.
October 09, 2017 at 03:15 PM
3 minute read
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.
Contact the reporter at [email protected].
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View AllBankruptcy Judge Clears Path for Recovery in High-Profile Crypto Failure
3 minute readGibbons Reps Asylum Seekers in $6M Suit Over 2018 ‘Inhumane’ Immigration Policy
3 minute readNJ Supreme Court Clarifies Affidavit of Merit Requirement for Doctor With Dual Specialties
4 minute readJudge Denies Retrial Bid by Ex-U.S. Sen. Menendez Over Evidentiary Error
Trending Stories
Who Got The Work
J. Brugh Lower of Gibbons has entered an appearance for industrial equipment supplier Devco Corporation in a pending trademark infringement lawsuit. The suit, accusing the defendant of selling knock-off Graco products, was filed Dec. 18 in New Jersey District Court by Rivkin Radler on behalf of Graco Inc. and Graco Minnesota. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Zahid N. Quraishi, is 3:24-cv-11294, Graco Inc. et al v. Devco Corporation.
Who Got The Work
Rebecca Maller-Stein and Kent A. Yalowitz of Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer have entered their appearances for Hanaco Venture Capital and its executives, Lior Prosor and David Frankel, in a pending securities lawsuit. The action, filed on Dec. 24 in New York Southern District Court by Zell, Aron & Co. on behalf of Goldeneye Advisors, accuses the defendants of negligently and fraudulently managing the plaintiff's $1 million investment. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Vernon S. Broderick, is 1:24-cv-09918, Goldeneye Advisors, LLC v. Hanaco Venture Capital, Ltd. et al.
Who Got The Work
Attorneys from A&O Shearman has stepped in as defense counsel for Toronto-Dominion Bank and other defendants in a pending securities class action. The suit, filed Dec. 11 in New York Southern District Court by Bleichmar Fonti & Auld, accuses the defendants of concealing the bank's 'pervasive' deficiencies in regards to its compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act and the quality of its anti-money laundering controls. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian, is 1:24-cv-09445, Gonzalez v. The Toronto-Dominion Bank et al.
Who Got The Work
Crown Castle International, a Pennsylvania company providing shared communications infrastructure, has turned to Luke D. Wolf of Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani to fend off a pending breach-of-contract lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 25 in Michigan Eastern District Court by Hooper Hathaway PC on behalf of The Town Residences LLC, accuses Crown Castle of failing to transfer approximately $30,000 in utility payments from T-Mobile in breach of a roof-top lease and assignment agreement. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Susan K. Declercq, is 2:24-cv-13131, The Town Residences LLC v. T-Mobile US, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Wilfred P. Coronato and Daniel M. Schwartz of McCarter & English have stepped in as defense counsel to Electrolux Home Products Inc. in a pending product liability lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 26 in New York Eastern District Court by Poulos Lopiccolo PC and Nagel Rice LLP on behalf of David Stern, alleges that the defendant's refrigerators’ drawers and shelving repeatedly break and fall apart within months after purchase. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Joan M. Azrack, is 2:24-cv-08204, Stern v. Electrolux Home Products, Inc.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250