Democratic gubernatorial candidate Brian Schweitzer has been busy this summer churning out policy ideas. Some are more interesting than others, but his latest proposal should resonate with seniors and aging baby boomers worried about prescription prices.

Schweitzer said he will push for a new state law requiring pharmaceutical companies to disclose payments, gifts and subsidies they make to Montana doctors to encourage them to prescribe their medicines. He said such a law, already in place in four states, could help lower drug costs over the long term.

Schweitzer, who organized drug-buying bus trips to Canada during his unsuccessful senate campaign against Conrad Burns, cited a General Accounting Office report to back up his plan. That report said drug manufacturers spent more than $16 billion on direct marketing to doctors in 2001, or about $19,000 per doctor. It said pharmaceuticals' promotional spending increased by 74 percent since 1997.

In a recent Your Turn, Helena physician Ken Eden said he's been offered $2,000 per patient treated with a company's Hepatitis C drug -- an offer he refused for ethical reasons, but an indication of the profit margins that must be involved.

Schweitzer's opponent, Republican Bob Brown, characterized the proposal as just another example of expanding government mandates and increasing costs. That's a standard GOP position, but people fed up with the soaring costs of medicines are likely to be curious about how much of their prescription payments are going to physician-directed marketing that might result in less reliance on safe but cheaper drug alternatives.