Resolution in Support of the PhRMA Code and Corporate Self-Regulation Exposed

The Resolution in Support of the PhRMA Code and Corporate Self-Regulation was adopted by ALEC's Health and Human Services Task Force on December 6, 2008, approved by the ALEC Board of Directors January 14, 2009. According to ALEC.org, the Resolution was re-approved by the Board of Directors on January 9, 2014. (Accessed on 2/11/2016).

CMD's Bill Summary

This Resolution opposes regulations on the pharmaceutical representatives who "sell" drugs to doctors for prescription to their patients (usually for a commission). There have been many revelations of false or misleading information provided by pharmaceutical companies through this practice, and it has been critiqued for influencing doctors to prescribe drugs that may not be entirely appropriate, or to over-prescribe medication. The Resolution calls for all interactions between pharmaceutical companies and health care providers to be subject only to a voluntary code of ethics established by the Pharmaceutical industry.

ALEC Bill Text

WHEREAS, Health care is an expanding portion of state budgets; and

WHEREAS, Prescription medicines, which comprise only 10 cents per health care dollar spent, are being used more frequently to treat diseases, including chronic diseases, and

WHEREAS, Prescription medicines have an essential role in treating chronic diseases, as do changes in personal behavior, such as diet and exercise; and

WHEREAS, America’s pharmaceutical companies are responsible for the discovery and development of the majority of new medicines available to patients in the United States and worldwide each year; and

WHEREAS, New medicines save lives, improve health, and reduce many health care costs, and

WHEREAS, Pharmaceutical companies have the most current information about all aspects of their medicines, and

WHEREAS, Providers need to make decisions based on their knowledge of both medicines and individual patients, and

WHEREAS, Patients and providers need the assurance that providers have the most current information about treatment options to make the best decisions about what specific medicine to prescribe for which patient; and

WHEREAS, {insert state legislative body} believes that the private sector will provide the most patient-centered, efficient, innovative health care for Americans, and

WHEREAS, PhRMA has adopted a revised Code on Interactions with Healthcare Professionals that explicitly affirms that pharmaceutical company “interactions with healthcare professionals are professional exchanges designed to benefit patients and to enhance the practice of medicine”; and

WHEREAS, PhRMA has provided a mechanism by which physicians, patients, and the general public can confirm whether an individual pharmaceutical company has agreed to abide by the PhRMA Code on Interactions with Healthcare Professionals; and

WHEREAS, PhRMA Code on Interactions with Healthcare Professionals encourages companies to seek external verification that the company has policies and procedures in place to foster compliance with the Code.

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT {insert state legislative body} endorses the new PhRMA Code and commends PhRMA for its adoption of both the Code and the public system for identifying companies that have agreed to abide by the Code.

Passed by the Health and Human Services Task Force on December 6, 2008.

Approved by the Board of Directors on January 14, 2009.