Letter: Yes, those payments are made for a reason
(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) Rep. Steve Eliason discusses HB 41, which has become known as "Hannah's Bill" on the floor of the House of Representatives, Friday, January 26, 2018.
The recent Tribune article about opioid prescribers in Utah, and the compensation they receive from drug manufacturers, quoted Rep. Steve Eliason about his concerns. His comments jumped out at me because they were so fitting for Utah politicians and lobbyists.
If you replace just a word or two, you see what's obvious to all of us, except, seemingly, politicians. Instead of saying, “I’d like to ask a physician or some of these companies...” he might well have said, "I'd like to ask a politician 'Is this necessary? Can't you make those types of decisions without these groups offering these types of incentives?’”
Most telling, he said, “Those payments are made for a reason.”
Yes, sir. They are. And if it didn't work, they wouldn't do it.
Susan Fox, Salt Lake City
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