Bill to protect patients from misleading medical advertisements moves to House

patient protectionA bill aiming to prevent Kentuckians from stopping medications prescribed to them by a doctor because of a misleading advertisement passed through the Senate on Tuesday with a 21-13 vote.

Sen. Ralph Alvarado, the sponsor of Senate Bill 178, said the bill brings reasonable regulation to these advertisements. He added it does not ban the practice of advertising for legal services nor does it in any way restrict someone from seeking legal services in response to medical care.

“The bill simply requires that those viewing these ads are given a truthful pitch,” Alvarado said.

Senate Bill 178 would also prohibit advertisements that solicit legal business from being mislabeled as a “medical alert,” “health alert,” or “public service announcement,” and protecting personal health information from being used to solicit legal services without the prior consent of the patient.

Learn more about the bill and read testimony given in a Senate committee meeting on The Bottom Line here.

The bill now heads to the House for a hearing in committee.

About the Author

Jacqueline Pitts
Follow on Twitter @JacquelinePitts

Be the first to comment on "Bill to protect patients from misleading medical advertisements moves to House"

Leave a Reply