Dude
Posted on 06/10/2012 8:53:59 PM PDT by george76
A new trove of emails shows President Barack Obama’s White House agreed to help drug companies block a proposal to bring down medicine prices so they would back Obama’s healthcare plan.
House Republicans obtained the three-year-old correspondence between the Obama administration and representatives of the drug industry and released more of them to the public on Friday...
The exchanges show the compromises as they were being negotiated that laid the groundwork for the health care law now awaiting the judgment of the Supreme Court.
...
White House officials had “made decision, based on how constructive you guys have been, to oppose importation” on a different proposal.
In the end, the drug industry agreed to provide $80 billion to expand health coverage in exchange for protection from policies that would cost more
(Excerpt) Read more at newsmax.com ...
Obama’s staff signaled a willingness to put aside support for the reimportation of prescription medicines at lower prices and by doing so solidified a compact with an industry the president had vilified on the campaign trail.
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/09/us/politics/e-mails-reveal-extent-of-obamas-deal-with-industry-on-health-care.html?_r=3&ref=politics
The key thing to realize is that with a federal budget measured in trillions of dollars, everyone wants a special deal and every politician is willing to make that deal, if they get something in return. Big Government has too much damn money. Corruption is endemic within both parties.
The only solution is a drastic cut in federal spending; maybe not all in one year, but we need to spend about 50% less than what we currently spend. The corruption will still be a problem, but perhaps a little less appealing.
Surprisingly, to some people this is news.
Obama’s White House agreed to help drug companies block a proposal to bring down medicine prices so they would back Obama’s healthcare plan.
NYTimes writing about it... well, sucks to be obama.
The drug companies are trying to get the government to prohibit drugs being bought in Canada and shipped here.
This is not new - just wasn’t reported by the press to any significant degree. Remember the health care lobbyists were in a panic over Martha Coakley falling behind in the polls and they started pumping her up with cash because they thought her failing to beat Scott Brown would put Obamacare in jeopardy. It was one of the most pro corporatist / anticompetitive bills in history ever passed.
Big business is moving away from capitalism as frantically as is Obama. Sure, the private sector is doing just fine.
Dude
The Democrats beat the Republicans over the head with the “reimportation of drugs” then when they had complete control they didn’t even attempt to pass it.
They want to have codified monopolies. The contention that Democrats want to “go after the big corporations” and “the rich” is poppycock - it is all about establishing an oligarchy. Those supporting these high tax policies that are in positions of wealth and authority do so because it will discourage / prohibit others from working toward attaining the same wealth and status to challenge their positions.
Martha Coakley Attends Fund Raiser with Insurance and Drug Company Lobbyists
Reporter Attacked Outside Event by Coakley Operative
Jan 13, 2010
“As first reported by Timothy Carney of the Washington Examiner, the host committee for the fundraiser at Pennsylvania Avenue’s Sonoma Restaurant includes lobbyists for Pfizer, Merck, Eli Lilly, Novartis and sundry other drug companies that have been among the biggest of ObamaCare’s corporate sponsors. Other hosts-who have raised at least $10,000 for Ms. Coakley-include representatives from UnitedHealthcare, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Humana and other insurers. As far as we can tell, the insurance industry claims to oppose ObamaCare’s current incarnation.
“Naturally, lobbyists from America’s Health Insurance Plans and Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, the major trade groups, were on hand too.”
http://voices.yahoo.com/martha-coakley-attends-fund-raiser-insurance-5265185.html
But the New York Times reporting that he's despicable IS news!
Timothy Carney was giving a powerpoint presentation about his new book: Obamanomics: How Barack Obama Is Bankrupting You and Enriching His Wall Street Friends, Corporate Lobbyists, and Union Bosses.
Here’s the book in a nutshell:
“Both parties are the parties of big business,” Carney said. “They both promote corporate socialism.”
I sat there in the front row at Cato, in wonder.
Listening to the talk – as Carney outlined how Obama had cut deals with Billy Tauzin and the pharmaceutical industry.
http://www.singlepayeraction.org/blog/?p=2028
Carney then puts up a slide showing how the Phrma cash went from supporting Republican candidates for President in the past – to supporting Barack Obama in 2008.
“Barack Obama raised $2.1 million from drug companies in 2008,” Carney said. “That’s about equal to what John McCain raised plus what George Bush raised in both of his elections. It’s the most by far any candidate has raised from the drug industry.”
Boston Globe: Merck To Pay $24M In Overcharging Case
Merck & Co. has agreed to pay $24 million to the state Medicaid program to settle long-running civil charges that it charged too much for some drugs, in the largest single-case Medicaid fraud settlement in Massachusetts history. The agreement, unveiled yesterday by Attorney General Martha Coakley’s office, closes out a 2003 lawsuit filed against 13 drug makers over inflated prices for medicines that were sold in pharmacies (Weisman, 12/21)/2011
http://www.kaiserhealthnews.org/daily-reports/2011/december/21/mercks-medicaid-settlement.aspx
Several industry groups handed over the e-mails voluntarily after the White House refused to release them.
The tactics employed by the administration and its allies in Congress, as well as the deals the administration reached with key industry groups to secure passage of the health-care law, have been well documented.
And the documents released Friday essentially conformed to that narrative.
But they offered a more intimate glimpse into some of the behind-the-scenes discussions with organizations such as the industry trade group Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA).
In one of the e-mails released Friday, PhRMA’s chief lobbyist reported that the White House had a particular request concerning the ads.
Then-White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel asked for “Harry and Louise ads thru third party” he wrote.
In a statement, Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.), chairman of the subcommittee that conducted the investigation, suggested this amounted to hypocrisy. “President Obama promised the most transparent administration in our history and railed against third-party advertising. We now know that Obama pressured the pharmaceutical industry in secret meetings to fund third-party advertising in support of Obamacare,” he said.
Republicans in the House of Representatives have uncovered a trove of emails and other memos showing how the Obama administration coordinated its $150 million advertising campaign with major pharmaceutical companies.
Nearly $70 million was spent through two Super PACs — political action committees — organized in part by White House officials, including Jim Messina, Obama’s former deputy chief of staff who is now managing his 2012 reelection campaign.
Democratic consultants working with the White House on health reform asked to meet backers of the law “to discuss our ad campaign,” Ron Pollack, executive director of the Families USA consumer group, said in a June 2009 e-mail to PhRMA.
“As I mentioned previously, I wanted to get some guidance from the White House about their messaging and how our effort can be consistent with that,” Pollack wrote.
http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/06/10/obamas-collaboration-with-big-pharma-exposed/
Not news - I wrote in protest at the time to the makers of the meds I use most. They essentially said FU. They don’t mind fascism if a fascist is in office.
Not news - I wrote in protest at the time to the makers of the meds I use most. They essentially said FU. They don’t mind fascism if a fascist is in office.
Pharma got screwed on this deal. My sweetie works for #3. The Pharma industry has lost around 200k jobs since Zero was annointed.
Too bad they are often so brainwashed these days about voting D instead of R that they can't see how he just F-ed them like they are brainwashed by Dems that Rs do to them. Wake up world. This guy's healthcare was all about Commie care not about truly looking to fulfill your needs over a lifetime.
Only real capitalism does that because competition is king and the ability to dictate your own wage based on your work ethic is a damn good destiny. Unless your lazy and want to stay on Mommy's nipple that is.
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