Grassley, Hassan Seek to Shine Light on Opioid Makers’ Financial Conflicts of Interest

WASHINGTON – Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), a senior member and former chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, and Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) today introduced bipartisan legislation to make public pharmaceutical and device manufacturers’ financial relationships with tax-exempt patient advocacy groups. The Open Payments Expansion Act builds on Grassley’s 2020 investigative report, which found opioid and medical device manufacturers paid $65 million to tax-exempt entities that drove up sales and downplayed risks of addiction.

“Patient advocacy is a noble cause, but pharmaceutical donors can manipulate well-intentioned organizations into Trojan horses for bad policy and dishonest marketing. By requiring opioid manufacturers to disclose their payments to nonprofit organizations, our legislation provides much-needed accountability and transparency,” said Grassley.

“One of the many ways that Big Pharma fueled the opioid crisis was through secretly funneling money to nonprofit advocacy groups – and then those groups at times promoted the use of opioids, despite the increasingly clear risks of addiction,” said Hassan. “At the very least, the American people deserve to know when Big Pharma tries to wield its influence through others. Passing our bipartisan bill would significantly improve transparency, and I urge our colleagues on both sides of the aisle to support it.”

Download bill text HERE.

Background:

As then-Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, Grassley and Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) recommended expanding CMS’s Open Payments database after exposing a decades-long trend of massive payments from opioid manufactures to nonprofit advocacy organizations. Grassley has also led legislation to require drug and medical device companies to disclose payments to nurse practitioners, physician assistants and other health care professionals, which was added in the 2018 SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act.

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