Is Obama Selling Us Down the River to Big Pharma?

Is Obama Selling Us Down the River to Big Pharma?

www.huffingtonpost.com

It turns out that Obama has had lobbyists from Big Pharma in contact with the White House negotiating on their behalf about the "comprehensive" health care reform measures. The White House has signaled that it won't support two things we need in order to fix the problem in return for the Drug Lobby's support on the rest of the package.

(visit the link for the full news article)

Many things go through my mind when I read this. I am on pins and needles over the entire national healthcare issue simply because I have no idea what is going on. Now I see that the pharmco's have their hand in the jar and probably did all along. What implications are going to come from this? Will we be given medication that suits a companies bottom line over our health?

www.huffingtonpost.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

Pretty sure we were sold a while ago.

Now they are collecting...

I posted this on a similiar thread a few minutes ago...

What came first, the chicken or the egg?

It starts with the Russell Trust.

The Russell Trust named for it's founder and patriarch oversees two notable things that it founded owns and runs.

One is Johns Hopkins Medical School, University and Hospital outside of Washginton D.C.

Two is a fun little harmless fraternity called Skull and Bones.

The Russell family made it's fortune smuggling opium into the United States back during the mid 1800's.

It eventually invented the Health Industry here in this country (Johns Hopkins) to create another outlet and a legitimate outlet for it's drugs.

Pharmacuticals and drugs legal or illegal are insanely profitible.

The list of illnesses that require drugs just grows and grows.

Ultimately the Elites and the Russells and the Trust are part of the Elite would like every man and woman on some kind of mind altering, thought numbing drug.

By introducing an artificial state of happiness via drugs people require less wealth and less material goods to be happy.

In fact most drug dependent people require no wealth or material good except the drugs that feed their addiction.

Drugs to create euphoria, complacency, sterillity and a docile state are often prescribed for dubious diseases like Adult Attention Deficit Disorder and Bi-Polar Disease.

Part of the Government Health Care Program is Managed Health Care, just because you are not sick does not mean you should not be going to the doctor!

You might have Bad Hair Disorder! Or be a little over weight. Oh no, one foot is bigger by a 1/4 of an inch than the other!

Good news we have a drug for that

It's all free and courtesy of Uncle Sam!

Lucky you, here is a cup of water, take one now...

going...going...gone!

Stop with this nonsense!!

Of course they will need to get in contact with these people, especially if they are going to have EVERY AMERICAN covered. There are policies that will need to be put into play here..

Everyone needs to be in the mix. I doubt he is "selling" anybody out. He's a millionaire and President, why would it matter to him if he made Pharmacutical companies rich?



With all the bull# spending of the last 100 years in the U.S, you'd think that extra 30$ a month outta your taxes will make sure little Johnny Smith and Grandmother Jane Anderson dont have to worry about dying.


Take a long hard look at yourself, America.

reply to post by CanadianDream420


My concern is that I will be given medicine for economic reasons and not medical reasons.

All I ask for is transparency.

He's a millionaire and President, why would it matter to him if he made Pharmacutical companies rich?

Maybe they scratched his back, and now it's his turn to repay the favor. I'm also a millionaire and always on the lookout for more cash. Let's face it, being a millionaire is not such a big deal these days.

you'd think that extra 30$ a month outta your taxes will make

I am not concerned about the tax money. I am way ahead of that game, as I am married to a citizen of another country. I am concerned that people who need the healthcare will not get the best deal for them. I don't need more healthcare. I have Tricare, the VA hospital, private insurance, and Japanese national healthcare. I'm all set.

I want national healthcare for the U.S., but I want it to be done right.

reply to post by ProtoplasmicTraveler



You hit the nail directly on the head with that post. The pharmcos will be pushing their poisons into every Americans life. I worry that they will work limited liabilty clauses into the healthcare systems. Next time they make a drug that kills more than it heals, they could just walk off whistling with their hand in their pocket like nothing happened.

reply to post by tamusan


The reality is they can get away with anything that's in the contract 100% legally.

Congress creates the Contract with them, for you.

The second you sign up or pay a premium or accept a identification number you have accepted the contract.

The reality is we don't need a new health care plan, we need a new government that will follow the constitution, to bust up all the monopolies. abolish the Federal Reserve and tear up NAFTA and make sensible tarrifs that keep American Companies from exporting jobs overseas to make products they want to sell here.

Then people can be paid a living wage, and can pay for afordable health care, which would be afordable once you get all the big monopolies out of the insurance and pharmacutical business.

As usual dumb Americans just want to put a band-aide on a gaping wound the just keeps getting worse and worse everytime we slap something half assed and ill concieved on it that only ever benefits the corporations and corporate government and not we the citizens.

I keep hoping at some point Americans wise up that fixing simple problems really just require simple solutions, not 1,000 page Bills!

reply to post by ProtoplasmicTraveler

not 1,000 page Bills!

That right there could be the problem. The way bills are pushed through, and often there are many unrelated issues tacked on for increased confusion, or to make sure the bill gets votes. Special interest groups are there to make sure that their agenda's are taken care of. It's not about you or I at the end of the day, but how much they can squeeze out of us before we die.

Maybe Obama had our best interest at the start. I will give him the benefit of the doubt. However, now I think that there is a race for everyone to make sure they are able to get both hands in the pot.

Is Obama Selling Us Down the River to Big Pharma? It sure looks like it.

To begin with we must acknowledge that

Prescription drug manufacturers, represented by their trade and lobbying group, Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), have one of the most powerful and successful lobbies in Congress.

link

Now the agreement made between PhRMA and the Obama administration is that the drug companies will promise $80 Billion in saving on prescriptions here in the USA over a period of ten years.

Sounds good, right?

At face value $80 Billion is a HUGE number and of course if going to be seen as a major improvement. Sadly, once you get past the wrapping the package holds nothing but more crap rolling down hill from the drug companies to US citizens.

What is included in this $80 Billion in savings for US citizens is this:

In fact, the Congressional Budget Office projects that if drug manufacturers were required to give Medicare Part D plans the same rebates they give the Medicaid program, the federal government would save $110 billion over ten years—$30 billion more than PhRMA’s offer with that single change.

link

There also remains the question of whether or not the agreement reached between PhRMA and the Bush Administration still stands as well:

Language was inserted into the law that explicitly prohibited the government from directly negotiating with drug manufacturers for lower drug prices. That has meant billions of dollars in extra profits and an assurance that the government would not interfere in how they set their prices.

Their gain was our loss. As I explained in a previous post, evidence shows that the prices negotiated by the private Medicare Part D plans are substantially higher than prices that government-run programs like the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Medicare Part B, Medicaid and those in other countries are able to obtain for their patients. The private plans' inability to secure better prices has meant higher costs for people with Medicare and for taxpayers.

link

The $80 Billion, to be honest, is not a gesture of kindness on the part of PhARMA nor a victory for Obama. PhARMA's mission after all is to influence the government to make decisions that at the least do no harm to the Drug Companies more often to improve their standing. Because these drug companies are CORPORATIONS their whole idea of 'progress' and 'success' is based on increased profitability.

This $80 Billion is simply an attempt to buy-off the government and the people in order to save more money that these corporations would loose if say a Public Option were allowed to be created.

Obama has most certainly dropped the ball on this one. What a shame. But that is the way the political ball is rolling. There has been so much money pumped into preventing the creation of Public Option by Big Business that there has been a major uprising of the people of the USA who are deluded into believing they are acting t preserve their 'personal freedoms' when in fact they are protecting the corporations bottom line.

I think it is high past time for Healt Care reform. My brother-in law is a pediatrician, my system has her masters in nursing & my wife has many health problems. My health insurance is very good.
What I have a problem with is the health care industry.
There are many good cancer fighter/cures out there but we Have to use chemotherapy.
They are just now talking about pre & pro biotics when their good work has been known for years.
Better and less expensive medications are out there that are so much better then those approved by the FDA. Please don't get me going on the FDA.
Doctors are being taught to treat the symptoms and not fix the basic problem.
My wife has Celiac (1 out of 160 people have it and don't know it) and was misdiagnosed for 20 years. We had changed plans and her doctor had worked at Johns Hopkins. He looked through her folder of her research & said I think you have Celiac.
Women are are on the fore front of researching their own medical problems because Doctors won't listen. Their pain & problems are all in their heads & have they seen a psychiatrist.
I'm all for fixing the health care system. This bill (and yes I've only made it through only 550 pages) does nothing of the kind. Stay on the subject of Reform. As President, I could cover all the uninsureds for a year under my current insurance plan out of 4 months of the pork barrell projects for the year.
Talk to me about charging the last 25 heads of the FDA with murder, manslaughter, conspiracy to ...
Tell me how this bill will reform the health care system. Don't talk to me about left & right or libertarian or who is paying off who. Reform, reform, reform - that is the subject.

Sorry about getting angry. Don't get me mad.
Ignorance is bliss. I used to be blissfull oh so many years ago.

reply to post by Animal


In reflection, what I think this issue is emblematic of the un-democratic power that corporation have amassed in the USA.

This reality calls all political parties legitimacy and honor in to question, though does not automatically dictate dishonor or legitimacy.

The seemingly limitless power of corporations to use their financial dominance to sway the political process to meet their needs 'profits and power' above those of the PEOPLE of the United States has continually degraded the quality of life of all US citizens EXCEPT those in positions of economic power.

This power could very easily be countered in a number of ways.

First, contributions to political campaigns could be dramatically reduced, if not removed completely.

Second, the 'person hood' granted to corporations could be erased. Thus making those who run the corporation personally responsible for any action taken by the company that causes harm.

I am sure there are many more examples of methods of limiting the corporations power, a goal I think vital for the protection of American Democracy.

In addition, there needs to be a method to create more accountability with our elected representatives. There should be direct consequences to Obama for selling ou the US people to PhRMA. Such actions are inexcusable.

Corporations have every right to make profits, even huge profits, but there needs to be accountability when profits come at the cost of human well being.

This is simply a free form rant, I look forward to hearing your replies.

reply to post by tamusan


Related article:

The White House deal with Big Pharma undermines democracy

reply to post by tamusan


Follow the money.

Follow the money.

Third line

I'd like to add, we definately are past due for health care REFORM. But this is not reform, this is a selling out of the American Ideal. How can you blindly believe this healthcare bill will be a good thing? I don't think you're ready to pay the real price for what you ask for, because if anyone has any real understanding about the world, they will see this for what it is. I blame the parenting and the media and the schools for raising a bunch of wonderful people you supporters of this nonsense must be. Don't blindly follow this tyrant and his regime. I thought you all had some sense. I'm quite dissapointed with this site as of late, it seems all the reasonable, good natured people are slowly being chased away by you vile bunch. Make no mistake, I'm not talking about any one party here, Bush was a tyrant too! But most of you saw that!! Or so I thought... it seems that many were simply being obedient little republican-hating bleeding hearts. Now you all look like hypocrites! And the republicans are out of control too. (Me? neither rep or dem) Until we can dissolve these ridiculous party lines and go back to NON-PARTISAN REPRESENTATIVES OF THE PUBLIC INTEREST.

[edit on 9-8-2009 by mostlyspoons]