Fwd: Drug Industry Presses for Payment of Higher Prices thru Monopoly of FDA

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arnoldgore

Sun, 1 Jun 2003 14:12:55 EDT

Drug Industry Presses for Payment of Higher Prices thru Monopoly of FDA

 

Subj: [cancercure] FOR SALE, your congressman's vote to keep Drug prices highÂ

6/1/2003 1:26:04 PM Eastern Standard Time

 

 

How Pharmaceutical companies buy your congressman and senator's vote

By ROBERT PEAR

 

 

How Pharmaceutical companies buy your congressman and senator's vote

By ROBERT PEAR

New York times

 

ASHINGTON, May 31 — Lobbyists for the drug industry are stepping up

spending to influence Congress, the states and even foreign

governments as the debate intensifies over how to provide

prescription drug benefits to the elderly, industry executives say.

 

Confidential budget documents from the leading pharmaceutical trade

group show that it will spend millions of dollars lobbying Congress

and state legislatures, fighting price controls around the world,

subsidizing " like-minded organizations " and paying economists to

produce op-ed articles and monographs in response to critics.IN

OTHER WORDS, SO THEY CAN PRICE GOUGE YOU FOR PRESCRIPTIONS, AND PAID

OFF CONGRESS WILL LOOK THE OTHER WAY.

 

The industry is worried that price controls and other regulations

will keep them from making huge profits off of middle class people.Â

 

The documents show that the trade association, the Pharmaceutical

Research and Manufacturers of America, known as PhRMA, will spend at

least $150 million in the coming year.

 

That represents an increase of 23 percent over this year's budget of

$121.7 million.

s of the trade association approved the new budget, together

with an increase in membership dues to pay for an expanded lobbying

campaign, at a meeting last week.

 

Congress will plunge into work on Medicare soon after it reconvenes

next week. President Bush and Congressional leaders have said they

intend to revamp Medicare and add drug benefits for the elderly.

Both houses plan to vote on the legislation before the Fourth of

July recess. But a struggle over drug costs and benefits is likely

to continue for months, or years.

 

The drug trade group plans to spend $1 million for an " intellectual

echo chamber of economists — a standing network of economists and

thought leaders to speak against federal price control regulations

through articles and testimony, and to serve as a rapid response

team. "

 

The trade association and its tactics have become an issue. In

debate on the Senate floor last summer, Senator Richard J. Durbin,

Democrat of Illinois, said, " PhRMA, this lobby, has a death grip on

Congress. " Yes, and on your Congressman's wallet, also. Hey, the

price of the Washington DC brothels are going up. Your congressman

needs that pay off from Pharma.

 

Senator Charles E. Schumer, Democrat of New York, said the drug

industry made wonderful products, but was becoming " despised and

hated " because of its aggressive efforts to keep prices and profits

high.

 

But Senator Orrin G. Hatch, Republican of Utah, defended the trade

group, saying it had been vilifed as a " satanic " force, " a bunch of

greedy, money-grubbing companies. " In fact, he said, drug makers do

more than any other industry to help people. YOU CAN BET HATCH IS

ROLLING IN PHARMACEUTICAL PAC MONEY DOE.

 

 

In its budget for the fiscal year that begins on July 1, the

pharmaceutical lobby earmarks $72.7 million for advocacy at the

federal level, directed mainly at Congress; $4.9 million to lobby

(BUY) the Food and Drug Administration; and $48.7 million for

advocacy at the state level.

 

In addition, the budget sets aside $17.5 million to fight price

controls and protect patent rights in foreign countries and in trade

negotiations.

 

The PhRMA budget allocates $1 million " to change the Canadian health

care system " and $450,000 to stem the flow of low-price prescription

drugs from online pharmacies in Canada to customers in the United

States. TO MAKE SURE THEY KEEP ON SCREWING YOU, THE PATIENT.

 

The major pharmaceutical companies operate in global markets.

Canada, like many industrial countries, offers health insurance to

all citizens, but limits drug prices.

 

A memorandum for the PhRMA board says the industry is on the

defensive, facing a " perfect storm " whipped up by several

factors: " expanding government price controls abroad, resulting in

politically unsustainable cross-border pricing differences;

increasing availability of medicines from abroad via Internet

sales " ; state ballot initiatives to make drugs more affordable in

the United States; increasing state demands for drug discounts in

the Medicaid program; and " false perceptions that drug prices are

increasing by 20 percent a year. "

 

Exact comparisons are difficult, but a group facing similar

problems, the American Association of Health Plans, budgeted $26

million this year to lobby for health maintenance organizations.

 

In its budget, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of

America says it will spend these amounts in the coming year:

 

¶$15.8 million to fight " a union-driven, get-out-the-vote ballot

initiative in Ohio, " which would lower drug prices for people who

have no insurance to cover such costs.

 

At least $2 million, and perhaps $2.5 million, in payments to

research and policy organizations, " to build intellectual capital

and generate a higher volume of messages from credible sources "

sympathetic to the industry. BRAINWASHING THE POLICY MAKERS

 

¶$9.4 million for public relations, including " $1 million for inside-

the-Beltway advertising, $555,000 for placement of op-eds and

articles by third parties, " $600,000 for polling, $1.3 million for

local publicity in 15 states and $680,000 for media relations

consultants.

 

The federal affairs staff at PhRMA has quadrupled, to 20 employees

today from 5 in 1999. The organization plans to spend $5 million for

outside lobbyists at the federal level. In their campaign

contributions, drug companies have favored Republican candidates.

But PhRMA has retained a diverse group of lobbyists to ensure access

to politicians of both parties.

 

Its Democratic lobbyists, listed in recent reports to Congress,

include former Representative Vic Fazio of California; David W.

Beier, who was chief domestic policy adviser to Vice President Al

Gore; Joel P. Johnson, who was a top aide to President Bill Clinton

and to Senator Tom Daschle, the minority leader; and Nick

Littlefield, former chief counsel for Senator Edward M. Kennedy of

Massachusetts.

 

Republicans who reported lobbying for PhRMA include former

Representatives Vin Weber of Minnesota and Bill Paxon of New York;

Dave Larson, former health policy adviser to Bill Frist, now the

Senate majority leader; Edwin A. Buckham, former chief of staff to

Tom DeLay, now the House majority leader; and Scott Hatch, the son

of Senator Hatch.

 

The state government affairs division of PhRMA will spend $3.1

million to retain more than 60 lobbyists in the 50 states. The

number of state legislative proposals dealing with prescription

drugs has doubled since 1999. The drug industry says many of the

bills " are seriously negative, have a high probability of enactment

and require major attention on our part. "

 

Dale Butland, a spokesman for the coalition seeking lower drug

prices in Ohio, said the drug industry lobby was " spending money

like water here, " challenging the validity of signatures on

petitions seeking a statewide referendum.

 

PhRMA said it would spend $12.3 million to develop coalitions and

strategic alliances with doctors, patients, universities and

influential members of minority groups.

 

The organization has earmarked several million dollars to foster

ties with groups like the National Black Caucus of State

Legislators, the National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators and

the National Medical Association, which represents the interests of

African-American doctors.

 

The budget includes $500,000 for efforts to " educate and activate

Hispanic-Latino organizations on a state and federal level. "

 

Several Hispanic groups have joined the drug industry in opposing

state efforts to control Medicaid costs by establishing lists of

preferred drugs. The Texas League of United Latin American Citizens

issued a statement last year saying it " stands solidly " behind a

lawsuit filed by the industry to block the use of such lists.

 

Luis Roberto Vera Jr., general counsel of the Texas Latino league,

said it received $10,000 from PhRMA to help pay for a workshop on

Latino health issues last year. But " there was no quid pro quo, " Mr.

Vera said.

 

Ana Yanez-Correa, policy director for the Texas group, said PhRMA

was " overstating and misrepresenting the amount of support it had "

from Latinos.

 

Dr. L. Natalie Carroll, president of the National Medical

Association, said her group had received small amounts of money from

PhRMA. The grants, she said, helped the association LINE THEIR

POCKETS.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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