Mass. Seeks To Ban Academic Freedom and Freedom of Speech

  • by: |
  • 03/04/2008
MA Senate President Therese Murray wants to ban all gifts, grants and honoraria to physicians. You can go to jail and be fined $5000 for giving a talk sponsored by the biotech or drug company. Take a pen and go to the pen. Two years max.

All designed to control health care spending. So let's see. Drug spending is 11 percent of total health care dollars -- and is rising less rapidly than other expenditures -- and generic drug scrips are rising much more rapidly in every major chronic disease area. Yeah, criminalizing the private actions of MDs with respect to drug companies will really bring medical costs to a screeching halt.

I wonder what the conflict of interest police on the web think about that. Giddy with the thought of eager trial attorneys and regulatory agencies sticking it to Big Phrma...

And speaking of conflicts, which Sen. Murray made much of in introducing her bill, those who live in the Bay State might want to know that Murray is a key supporter of 40T which would allow people like her to appoint unelected special districts to take property and raise taxes for private development projects..

" Within the district, an appointed panel, handpicked by the developers, would replace many of the functions of elected municipal officials. They could raise taxes ("assessments") without regard to the constraints of Proposition 2 1/2. They could pass their own bylaws. A vote of their unelected panel would replace any requirement in Massachusetts law for a democratic vote of the people within the district. In effect, this bill creates new towns within towns in which democracy and public purpose are replaced by the rule of unelected officials with a profit motive.

Chapter 40T turns the concept of conflict of interest on its head because government powers would be blatantly exercised to enrich private parties. By evading democratic checks and balances, it offers unlimited opportunities for abuse."
http://www.masschc.org/chapter40T.html


No potential for conflict there.... I wonder who contributed to her campaign?

But watch the connect the dot crowd ignore the hypocrisy and double standards of the pols who want to put physicians on a watch list.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2008/03/04/ban_on_gifts_to_doctors_sought/

The conflict of interest movement is morphing into a lynch mob..
CMPI

Center for Medicine in the Public Interest is a nonprofit, non-partisan organization promoting innovative solutions that advance medical progress, reduce health disparities, extend life and make health care more affordable, preventive and patient-centered. CMPI also provides the public, policymakers and the media a reliable source of independent scientific analysis on issues ranging from personalized medicine, food and drug safety, health care reform and comparative effectiveness.

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