The hotly debated Massachusetts gift ban was voted down Thursday. The strike against the ban won out 180 to 40 in the House.

The ban, which only went into effect last July, prohibited medical device and pharmaceutical companies from giving gifts, including meals, to potential clients. Opponents of the ban argued that it discouraged out-of-state companies from doing business in Massachusetts and that it did not lead to measurable health care cost reductions.

Supporter of the ban Rep. Alice Wolf said the ban worked to keep health care costs down in multiple ways.
"The reason for wining and dining is to get people, in some cases, to adopt certain medicines, pharmaceuticals, which may or may not be the most cost-effective," she told DOTmed News. "It's very much a way of trying to keep in control health care costs as well as to make sure decisions are made appropriately."

Supporter Rep. Jason Lewis said it's "highly unlikely" that the ban would be repealed, as two key players in the state Senate are advocates of it.

He also said it's too early to know whether the ban, which was created based on the concern of company-physician conflict of interest, had any effect on health care costs or conflict of interest.

"In some cases, [direct physician marketing] might put profit before the best interests of patients," Lewis told DOTmed News.

The elimination of the gift ban is included in economic development legislation, which cleared in the House, and now has to be reconciled with a Senate bill in a conference committee. That decision is expected in the next several weeks, said Lewis.

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