Rogers was a leading advocate for expanded access to opioids and called himself “a champion” for big pharma.
Rogers was bankrolled by big pharma drug manufacturers who flooded Michigan with their opioids and accepted more than $1 million in contributions over the past 27 years.
Rogers’ Legislation Fueled The Opioid Crisis In Michigan And He Accepted Thousands From Opioid Manufacturers
Rogers Was A Leading Advocate For Expanded Access To Opioids And Called Himself “A Champion” For Big Pharma
Rogers Was A Leading Advocate For Expanded Access To Opioids. According to Bridge Michigan, “A Bridge Michigan investigation revealed that while in Congress from 2001-2015, Rogers was a leading advocate for greater access to pain medications, which are typically variations of opioids. He received hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from the same drug companies that now are paying billions of dollars in national opioid settlements for their roles in causing the epidemic.” [Bridge Michigan, 8/29/24]
Rogers Repeatedly Introduced Legislation To “Extend Accessibility (Of Pain Medications) To More And More Americans Suffering From Chronic Pain.” According to Bridge Michigan, “In September 2003, second-term Michigan U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers held a press conference in Washington to promote a bill he’d introduced. The National Pain Care Policy Act, he said, would address ‘the largest significant health problem facing America.’ It would be the beginning of a decade of advocacy by the Livingston County politician to boost opioid prescriptions, with a goal to ‘extend accessibility (of pain medications) to more and more Americans suffering from chronic pain.’ Prescriptions soared during that decade, but so did addiction and deaths, as the nation tumbled into a crushing epidemic it is still battling today. [...] Rogers introduced the National Pain Care Policy Act in 2003, and again in 2005, and was co-sponsor of the same act in other years. Rogers’ bills and those he co-sponsored included a range of mandates, from developing a pain care initiative for veterans, to assuring Medicare and Tricare (the health care plan for active-duty military) covered pain meds. It also would permit the federal government to offer grants to educate doctors on pain and palliative care. The bills did not include penalties for over-prescribing.” [Bridge Michigan, 8/29/24]
Rogers Falsely Claimed That Legislation He Backed In The House Included Safeguards To Protect Against Opioid Overprescription And Addiction. According to American Journal News, “Rogers has been criticized for championing the National Pain Care Policy Act when he served in Congress from 2001 to 2015, a law that some say encouraged doctors to treat chronic pain with pharmaceuticals like OxyContin. ‘In Congress, I voted to allow Americans who are suffering from debilitating pain to have access to the treatment they need to live comfortably,’ Rogers wrote. He added that the legislation had safeguards to prevent overprescription and addiction. But this isn’t true..” [American Journal News, 3/24/26]
Rogers Teamed With The American Pain Society To Secure Passage Of The National Pain Care Policy Act; The Group Disbanded In 2019 Over Allegations They Colluded With Pharmaceutical Companies To Promote Opioids. According to American Journal News, “In 2003, Rogers held a press conference touting the National Pain Care Policy Act with the American Pain Society, a nonprofit group that raised awareness about chronic pain and backed pharmaceuticals to treat it. The group disbanded in 2019 over allegations that it colluded with pharmaceutical companies to promote opioids.” [American Journal News, 3/24/26]
Rogers Was Bankrolled By Big Pharma Drug Companies Who Flooded Michigan With Their Opioids And Accepted More Than $1 Million In Contributions Over The Past 27 Years
Between 2006-2015, Rogers Received At Least $310,000 In Contributions From Groups Tied To The Pharmaceutical Industry. According to Bridge Michigan, “According to an investigation by the Associated Press and the Center for Public Integrity, Rogers campaign and leadership accounts received at least $310,000 in contributions from groups tied to the pharmaceutical industry between 2006-2015.” [Bridge Michigan, 8/29/24]
Rogers Was Closely Tied To Corrupt Big-Pharma-Backed ‘Advocacy’ Groups Including The American Pain Society, The Pain Care Forum, And The American Pain Foundation. According to Bridge Michigan, “The American Pain Society took part in Rogers’ first press conference about his National Pain Care Policy Act in 2003. That group was later forced to close after disclosures of its financial ties to drug companies and its role in encouraging opioid prescriptions. In 2006, a forum sponsored by the Pain Care Forum, titled ‘The Epidemic of Pain’ asked for support for Rogers’ bills. Though doctors had been raising warning flags about opioid prescriptions for years, the briefing materials at the forum included the statement: ‘Appropriate use of opioid medications like oxycodone is safe and effective and unlikely to cause addiction to people who are under the care of a doctor and who have no history of substance abuse.’ That’s now known not to be true. The Pain Care Forum was financially tied to Purdue Pharma, the maker of Oxycontin, and was labeled by critics as an ‘echo chamber’ for the drug companies A 2020 congressional bipartisan report on the history of the opioid epidemic noted that Purdue Pharma donated $3.6 million to another group called the American Pain Foundation, which supported Rogers’ bills. That foundation shut down in 2012 in wake of a Senate investigation into its ties to drug manufacturers.” [Bridge Michigan, 8/29/24]
Rogers Accepted More Than $1 Million In Big Pharma Contributions Over The Past 27 Years. According to American Journal News, “Rogers has also been criticized for accepting large donations from the pharmaceutical industry. Since 1999, he has received more than $1 million in contributions from Big Pharma and other health care-related entities.” [American Journal News, 3/24/26]