Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) and Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) proposed a bill Wednesday to require pharmaceutical companies and medical device manufacturers to publicly report payments made to physician assistants, nurse practitioners and other advance practice nurses, according to ProPublica.
This would expand the disclosure agreement under the Physician Payment Sunshine Act, through which companies are required to disclose payments made to physicians, dentists, chiropractors, optometrists and podiatrists, according to the report.
The proposed bill would close a loophole in the Sunshine Act, as nurses with advanced degrees and PAs can and do prescribe medications. In fact, ProPublica estimates NPs and PAs wrote about 10 percent of prescriptions under Medicare Part D in 2013, and IMS Health estimates they wrote 15 percent of all prescriptions nationwide in the first five months of 2015, according to the report.
Just like physicians and other medical providers, NPs, PAs and other advanced degree nurses have received kickbacks in the past. Once such NP pleaded guilty earlier this year to taking $83,000 in kickbacks for prescribing a high-priced medication for cancer pain, according to the report.
The proposed bill would go into effect beginning in 2017, according to the report. CMS and the American Association of Nurse Practitioners did not provide ProPublica with comments.
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