The Genesis of ObamaCare
How a Pfizer CEO and Big Pharma colluded with the White House at the public’s expense: In September, lead PhRMA negotiator Bryant Hall informed Pfizer’s CEO Jeff Kindler that deputy White House chief of staff Jim Messina “is working on some very explicit language on importation to kill it in health care reform. This has to stay quiet.”
PhRMA more than repaid the favor, with a $150 million advertising campaign coordinated with the White House political shop.
Entire editorial in the Wall Street Journal.
This makes Big Pharma look bad. But the real culprit isn’t pharma. The real problem is the political system that allows Congressional rent seeking in return for not goring Big Pharma’s ox. If drug makers were like most other firms, where they had to compete on price and quality for customers’ business with no third-party payment, drug firms would act competitive. It’s only when an industry has to constantly be on their guard and take the initiative against political attacks that they become defensive and become astute to perceived opportunities for lobbying. Under the appropriate conditions, drug makers wouldn’t hire lobbyists because the return on investment for lobbying would be near zero. Neither would policy makers look for ways to screw drug makers.
Just goes to show, its no longer about the will of the people, its about who you know and how much money you have. Great post
This is a great example of crony capitalism.
House Republicans are openly suggesting that this backroom deal has fixed the Medicare “doughnut hole” regardless of the constitutionality of Obamacare, because the deal was struck outside the scope of the legislation.
Rep. Phil Gingrey: “PhRMA agreed to that deal, didn’t they? Well, God bless them. That was the risk they took and that’s fine. That problem is solved. Why do we need to do anything to solve the problem with the doughnut hole? It’s already been done.”
The e-mail exchange between PhRMA and the White House would suggest the same.