On May 11, Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy signed into law Public Act 15-4, entitled "An Act Concerning Reporting Payments by Manufacturers to Independently-Practicing Advance Practice Registered Nurses" (the "Reporting Amendment"). The Reporting Amendment, which became effective upon signing, amends Section 21a-70f of the Connecticut General Statutes (the "Connecticut Reporting Requirement"). The latter requires that certain drug and medical device manufacturers ("Applicable Manufacturers") report to the Commissioner of Consumer Protection certain payments or other transfers of value made to Advanced Practice Registered Nurses ("APRNs") who practice in Connecticut.

The Connecticut Reporting Requirement is modeled on the federal Physician Payments Sunshine Act ("Sunshine Act"), part of the Affordable Care Act. The requirements of the Connecticut Reporting Requirement, as amended by the Reporting Amendment, are in addition to an Applicable Manufacturer's obligations under the Sunshine Act and any applicable reporting requirements of other states.

The Reporting Amendment modifies the Connecticut Reporting Requirement by extending the deadline to begin reporting from July 1, 2015 to July 1, 2017, changing the reporting period from quarterly to annual, and narrowing the universe of payment recipients covered by the law to only APRNs who are not practicing in collaboration with a physician. The Commissioner of Public Health will be required to publish on its website a list of APRNs who are authorized to practice in Connecticut without collaborating with a physician, and Applicable Manufacturers may refer to this list in determining whether a particular payment or transfer of value must be reported.

Finally, the Reporting Amendment expands the definition of "payment or transfer of value" to include any transfers of value provided to APRNs that are otherwise excluded under the Sunshine Act.

The Reporting Amendment aligns the Connecticut Reporting Requirement more closely with the Sunshine Act and comparable reporting requirements of other states, including Massachusetts and Vermont, and reduces the overall administrative burden on Applicable Manufacturers. Although Applicable Manufacturers will be required to track and report some payments and transfers of value to Connecticut APRNs that need not be reported under the Sunshine Act, the new scope of the requirement is consistent with other states' reporting requirements and should not increase manufacturers' record-keeping and reporting burdens.

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