Two bills introduced in Congress caught my eye.
1. Rep. James Moran (D-Va.) introduced a bill that would only allow TV and radio ads for erectile dysfunction drugs between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. Moran says he introduced the bill becaus Medicare next year will begin to cover such drugs, so the federal government will essentially help finance the ads.
2. Rep. Dan Lipinski (D-Ill.) introduced a bill that would require hospitals to routinely report their charges for the 25 most commonly performed inpatient and outpatient procedures. Hospitals would also have to post the prices of their 50 most-prescribed medications. (Good luck trying to get this information on your own!)
Posted by schwitz at March 22, 2005 11:01 AM