Over the summer, much was made of the agreement the White House reached with drug makers that it wouldn't seek more than $80 billion in price cuts from them over new healthcare legislation. "We were assured," declared Billy Tauzin, head of The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), that "if you come in first," in support of healthcare reform, "you will have a rock-solid deal."
The White House reluctantly confirmed that arrangement in the first days of August, then spent weeks dealing with concerned Democrats and progressives who accused it of making a Faustian pact with the pharmaceutical industry, reaching too quick a concession--and too shallow a cut on prices--to get at least the appearance of support from the industry.
Regrettably, but not surprisingly, the concern turns out to have been justified.
The headline of yesterday's Guardian newspaper in Britain made clear that PhRMA has not only reneged on its deal with the White House, but also has paid enormous sums of money behind the scenes to torpedo the planned reforms.
"Revealed: Millions Spent by Lobbyists Fighting Obama Health Reforms" was the headline. "The [drug and insurance] industry and interest groups have spent $380 million in recent months influencing healthcare legislation through lobbying, advertising and in direct political contributions to members of Congress. The largest contribution, totaling close to $1.5 million, has gone to the chairman of the senate committee drafting the new law."
That would be Senator Max Baucus of Montana, who just helped kill the widely discussed "public option" for healthcare coverage. That option also was designed to drive down runaway costs, a key reason we need reform in the first place. Senator Baucus, the Guardian reports, "holds dinners for health industry executives at which they pay thousands of dollars each to be at the table, and an annual fly-fishing and golfing weekend in his home state of Montana that lobbyists pay handsomely to attend. They have included John Jonas, who represents healthcare firms for Patton Boggs, widely regarded as the top lobbying firm in Washington. Jonas, who formerly worked on the congressional staff, acknowledges that political contributions are intended to buy influence and says it works."
Senator Baucus apparently "took $1.5 million from the health sector for his political fund in the past year. Other members of the committee have received hundreds of thousands of dollars. They include Senator Pat Roberts, who last week tried to stall the bill by arguing that lobbyists needed three days to read it."
"Reform groups," the article continues, "say vast spending, and the threat of a lot more being poured into advertisements against the administration, has helped drug companies ensure there will be no cap on the prices they charge for medicines--one of the ways the White House had hoped to keep down surging healthcare costs."
Before he jumped ship to head PhRMA, Billy Tauzin almost single-handedly locked the Bush administration into paying exorbitant prices on drugs for seniors' prescription plans. It was Representative Tauzin--supposedly working on behalf of the government--who oddly made it impossible for the government to bargain down drug prices by prescribing cheaper-priced generics.
All of which might prompt us to wonder why the Obama administration continues to stand by its deal with PhRMA, when the industry is working so hard to undercut healthcare reform.
With six lobbyists for every member of Congress, it's depressingly clear that unless Americans grasp the urgency of the country's need for healthcare reform--and make that need felt soon--we are soon likely to be worse off than before, with higher across-the-board costs and still unacceptable numbers of Americans left without any kind of insurance at all.
Meanwhile, the Max Baucuses of this world will still be holding their fly-fishing and golfing parties, and charging lobbyists hundreds of thousands of dollars for the privilege of attending.
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