Under the arrangement, Lupron producer TAPPharmaceutical Products Inc. sold urologiststhe drug at a steep discount, while theurologists in turn billed Medicare for the full price.
Deprived of the Lupron profits, some urologists' incomes declined by as much as one-half, according to several urologists who were practicing atthe time.
At this point, most of the evidence of increased vasectomies has been anecdotal from practicing urologists, because there is no national registry for sterilizations.