PORTLAND (AP) — A Maine lawmaker is working on a new ethics bill that would curtail gifts, free food and speaking and consulting payments from drug companies to physicians in the state.
Democratic Rep. Scott Hamann tells the Portland Press Herald the language of the bill is currently being drafted. He intends to model it on ethics legislation in Minnesota that makes it illegal to receive more than $50 in gifts per year.
Federal data shows that pharmaceutical industry spending in Maine on doctors totaled $11.9 million from 2013 to 2015.
Hamann says he wants people to be “confident” knowing that their doctor isn’t receiving thousands of dollars in gifts from pharmaceutical companies.
A new law capping the dosage and length of time that opioids can be prescribed takes effect this year.
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