Evidently Obama Thinks Some Greedy, Evil Corporations (And Their Money) Aren't So Greedy And Evil...

Listening to Barack Milhaus Obama, you'da thunk every corporation with any sort of link to the present health care system is (a) greedy, and (b) evil. And if you thunk that you'd either be (a) as smart as Bill Maher, and (b) a hopeless drone. That's because one of the reasons health care reform became health insurance reform was because Milhaus decided to crawl into bed with the pharmaceutical industry in an effort to get his health care/insurance reform passed.

According to news accounts, the not-at-all (a) greedy, or (b) evil pharmaceutical industry was willing to cough up some serious cash - somewhere between $150 and $200 million - to help Obamacare become a reality. Now, as we all know, Mr. Obama pledged to end the unholy alliance between government and special-interest lobbies, so we can only assume the pharmaceutical industry is doing this simply because they are the one and only industry in President Obama's America that is neither (a) greedy, nor (b) evil.

Isn't that something? I mean, what are the odds of that sort of coincidence.

Is Barack Obama lucky, or what?

Well, it turns out he isn't quite as lucky as he thought he was. It turns out some of his fellow Democrats have come to the conclusion the pharmaceutical industry might not be (a) not greedy, and (b) not evil! Goodness! According to the New York Times:

Caught between a pivotal industry ally and the protests of Congressional Democrats, the Obama administration on Friday backed away from what drug industry lobbyists had said this week was a firm White House promise to exclude from a proposed health care overhaul the possibility of allowing the government to negotiate lower drug prices under Medicare.

In other words, Obama was trying to sell health care/industry reform and garner some lobbying money by stiffing Medicare on drug pricing... Promising the pharmaceutical industry that he'll cap price reduction on drugs to Medicare at $80 billion (while liberal Democrats are looking for double that) in exchange for $150 million to use selling Obamacare to the nation.

Man, that's super-genius thinking, ain't it?

So, who are the industry-backed sluts now, eh?

Update: Well, it looks like the deal is back on. Barack Milhaus Obama gets his $150 million in pro-reform advertising, the evidently not greedy or evil at all pharmaceutical industry gets a White House backed Medicare price reduction cap of $80 billion, plus access to another $500 or so billion in drug sales under Obamacare. Gee, this is change you can believe in, eh?

Of course, had the Republicans tried something like this... Well, we all know the answer, don't we?

That's different...

Comments

[Simon]

Look's like the rets of the world can rest easy - you guys are going to continue to overpay on pharma and cross subsidise the rest of us.

So which one is this sell out - the red pill or the blue pill ?

[Peter UK]

Reality bursts the bubble of politics. A more experienced politician than Obama would have known that "politics is the art of the possible".

[Thingumbob]

Thank you for the clarity on this issue. Let me add a little something, if I may. We just bailed out an insurance behemoth AIG to the tune of oh $100 billion or so. Mr. Obama wants to save $200 billion on Medicare. Can none of you left wing or right wing fools see the connection here? When money is put ahead of humanity the economics of scarce resources leads inevitably to tyranny. The war reparations placed upon Germany after WWI lead to the bestial final solution. The logic of bailing out criminal speculators too big to fail leads down that same path. If you are not able to understand this it is because you refuse to look this evil in the eye. Thank you.

[markg8]

You cite Fox and and a WSJ op-ed as news accounts? No wonder you know so little about the issue Dennis.

PhRMA, the AMA, the AHA and even AHIP have all gone to the WH to give lip service to making concessions.

There was no $150 million lobbying support from PhRMA. While all the insurance companies alone spent $133 fighting reform in the second quarter all the provider side stakeholders combined spent $40 million I think it was contributing to house rep and senate campaign coffers.

Here's what PhRMA has spent supporting reform since coming to the WH in June from the NY Times article you cite:

And since striking the deal, the drug industry lobbyists had become a vital and thus powerful White House ally, even helping to bankroll a million-dollar advertising campaign in support of the health care overhaul.

And some more from that article:

White House said there had been some ambiguity in the original discussions, conducted primarily through the Senate Finance Committee, over whether the overhaul might include the government negotiations of drug prices.

The several Senate Democrats cited below are from the Finance Committee:

Several Senate Democrats said Friday that, in a private meeting, White House officials had told them there was no such deal, sowing yet more confusion. House Democratic leaders vowed to fight against it.

So the WH let Max Baucus and Kent Conrad tell the lead PhRMA lobbyist Billy Tauzin, whatever he wanted to hear. Tauzin is the former Dem turned Republican congressman who led the effort in the House to scam the US taxpayer out of $1.2 trillion in the Medicare Part D drug bill before bolting for his $2 million a year lobbyist job right afterward.

Then the WH brings in the Gang of Six, the Repub and Dem senators from the Finance Committee on Friday and tells them capping drug price concessions at $80 billion won't fly and that some of their other dumb ideas they've been touting are non starters too. The senators have already gotten their money
from Billy Tauzin and company and now they have to choose. Do the right thing for the American people or screw the likes of Billy Tauzin?

We know how the Republicans like Grassley and Enzi will go. Like Simon says they'll vote "to continue to overpay on pharma and cross subsidise the rest of us". Even Baucus has said if the Republicans don't quit stalling they'll have to move on without them. Eventually we will.

[fcFox]

Gee Mark, I wish I could be as smart as you. If I were then I could overlook the fact that the adjusted ten year projections are being offset by a projected increase of revenue of a little less than $600B... Where does that money come from? Well I guess it comes from those greedy insurance companies and hospitals... Wait. Where does their money come from? (I'll save you the trouble and suggest evil Republicans.) Yay for double taxation!

"OMG! MMA IS SO FAILING! It might cost 1.2 trillion!"
http://www.cms.hhs.gov/apps/media/press/release.asp?counter=2868

Yep. You keep with those talking points.

[markg8]

CfFox are you really such a stooge or do you just play one here? A press release from the Bush administration in January 2008 is your source?

[fcFox]

Sorry, I forgot, Evil Republicans completely invalidate any argument with you. I'll go flagilate myself now...

Mark, the only real thing standing in the way of of this bill passing are Democrats. What part of majority don't you understand? It's real simple. All they have to do is cram it down everyone's throats.

Then again, I suppose a question mounts. What's more important, the passage of this bill or holding onto power? However, if there's truly nothing bad that's going to happen then there's no risk is there? In fact, it would consolidate their hold on government.

"Substance over ideology," indeed.

p.s. If anyone goes to see the GI Joe Movie you don't have to stick around for the end of the credits. There's no PSA. I was heartbroken.

[fcFox]

Grrrrr. *Flagellate

[markg8]

I'll go flagilate myself now.

As far as I'm concerned you ought to smack yourself in the forehead repeatedly until you realize what a mess your party made of this country or at the very least until you stop quoting the Bush Administration as proof of anything.

I have no doubt the price of drugs has started to come down. The drug companies aren't stupid. Their best customers have been packing buses and going to Canada to buy drugs for years. It was clear two years ago the Republicans, the drug cos' benefactors had as much chance of retaining the WH or taking back congress in 2009 as they had of "winning" in Iraq.

Oh to hell with it...just read this:

http://www.medicareadvocacy.org/Print/2009/PartB_09_02.12.RealDrugBenefit.htm