Advertisements from seemingly independent advocacy groups are swamping Beltway newspapers with dire warning that recent proposals to lower drug prices will lead to dangerous consequences. In the last week alone, the ads have appeared in the Washington Post, Washington Times, Roll Call, The Hill, and Politico.
The groups placing the ads have no obvious connection to pharmaceutical companies. For instance, the American Conservative Union (ACU), one of the organizations taking out an ad, describes itself as devoted to promoting “liberty, personal responsibility, traditional values, and strong national defense.”
But unbeknownst to readers, the organizations have undisclosed financial ties to the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), the umbrella lobbying group that represents the biggest names in the drug industry, including Merck, Pfizer, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Purdue Pharma, and Eli Lilly.
The ads have appeared as legislators are taking up proposals designed to lower drug prices — potentially cutting into the profits of the big drugmakers. A bill proposed by Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., would reverse a 2003 law that prohibits Medicare from using its collective bargaining power to negotiate for lower prescription drug prices. The ban on negotiation was originally authored by legislators working closely with PhRMA lobbyists, and the sponsor of the ban later became a PhRMA lobbyist.
“Will government price setting lower the cost of her prescription drugs? Will government rationing increase his access to new, life-saving medicines?” asks the full-page ad sponsored by the ACU. The ad features a stock image of senior citizens with puzzled looks across their faces.
The ATR ad, which goes on to call for preserving the “free-market elements of the Medicare system,” declares, “Keep Government Bureaucrats Out of Medicare Part D!”
“I found this ad particularly strange,” Peter Maybarduk, the director of Public Citizen’s Access to Medicines program said, given the group’s ostensible devotion to tax reduction. “The problem with high drug prices is one of monopoly power. We do have government bureaucrats involved; they’re giving monopolies to the companies through patents and other exclusivities.”
It might appear odd for groups such as ATR and ACU to claim that Medicare’s prescription drug policies, which were designed by drug company lobbyists to prevent competitive bidding, reflect free-market values. And why would ATR, a group devoted to tax issues, spend a large amount of money on ads that have nothing to do with taxes?
One thing both organizations have in common is the same longtime financial sponsor. PhRMA, which is required to disclose grants to other nonprofits on its annual tax return, provided ATR with $746,000 between 2010 and 2014. The American Conservative Union has received $100,000 from PhRMA during the same period.
ATR was founded by Grover Norquist, a former corporate lobbyist with a long history of using his nonprofit group to advance the interests of donors. In 2006, a congressional report found that lobbyist Jack Abramoff coordinated closely with Norquist to arrange special policy favors for his clients. In one email, Norquist requested a $50,000 donation to ATR in exchange for his group moving to oppose taxes on Brown-Forman products. The report further found that Abramoff arranged opinion columns authored by Norquist in support of Abramoff’s client goals in exchange for cash.
Franken’s Improving Access to Affordable Prescription Drugs Act would also allow for the re-importation of FDA-approved drugs selling for less abroad. It quickly gained 15 co-sponsors, including Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Richard Durbin, D-Ill.
Top photo: Prescription drugs at the Clay-Battelle Community Health Center’s pharmacy in Blacksville, W.Va.
I have mixed feelings about Medicare drug price bargaining. We have one of the world’s largest scams known as private healthcare. We know drug companies will get their money one way or another, so if Medicare doesn’t pay as much for drugs, everyone else on private plans or with no insurance will make up the difference. US inflated drug prices are, in part, caused by reduced prices in other markets, combined with politician backroom deals to profit from that. Instead of messing with drug price policy that will just make different consumers pay the price, we need single payer. There’s no other option.
This is a strange country with its espousal of “free market” this and “free market” that.
We need to go back to the drawing board, before we are just known as being exceptionally bad for most people. I mean, seriously – those of us Boomers were born only around a century after the Civil War. No society can mature in such a short amount of time.
Obviously.
Consumerism and capitalism must be redefined.
Lee Fang is goddamn genius!
Eh, there is one downside to bargaining on medical prices. There is no bargain unless both sides are able to walk away So the government may end up having to walk away and not cover certain things. (Patent issues are another thing entirely that this bill alone does not seem to cover.)
These are drug prices, not medical prices.
Stop the monopolies.
Make every drug available as a generic.
Regulate generic drugs.
Drug test the CEOs and other high-ranking people at these companies looking for corporate welfare. Drug test every bastard looking for government handouts (as the Trumps do).
Either the companies take a lower margin on millions of Americans’ business or they take a higher margin on none of it. Eh, not too difficult.
We don’t to bargain prices, we just need the option of buying drugs from different countries – Canada – Cuba – England.
Hooey with price fixing.
The real scary thing to the right (liberty folks, tsk, tsk) is that the pharma industry loses its corporate welfare status their patent protections.
How about we level the playing field, shorten the patent protection window and open the market (want liberty? how about free market pharma???) to international competition?
The only thing keeping prices sooo freakin high is the lack of competition. If the big American pharma boys and girls don’t want to play in that market I’m sure that we liberty-loving Americans can do just fine without them.
Get real congress! Make it an open and free pharma market. It solves all of the problems of high prices.
Hey Donald, the swamp is still plugged up.
A relevant story: https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-12/euot-ala122116.php
The claim is that “people will be able to make drugs in rainforests”. It is true but not intended to be true.
It is obvious that all the pharma monopolists and spies in the world don’t want you making VX, or worse, Daraprim in your science fair project. So much so that when I see the invention of such a thing as this I immediately assume there is some other purpose in mind. We have all seen the news of flying insect drones already; but these are the bright boys who give it a sting in its tail that can last for months.
Nonetheless — it is possible that the people can co-opt this technology, defy the pharma cartels, defy even the drug cartels, and make an individual resistance. It is worth following.
On April 21, 2032, when the leader of Los Zetas ascends the imperial throne in Washington, these people will be among those most responsible; and yet I would not expect gratitude, as that would be a virtue.
Something that would actually help working citizens? It’ll never pass.
corrected and revised pharma campaign slogan..
Competition and Market pricing don’t work. Keep wallstreet thieves out of our government.
Washington is for sale.
The drug companies have the price.
It really is as simple as that.
Where is Schedule B (funding sources) in their 990 submission?
http://990s.foundationcenter.org/990_pdf_archive/520/520810813/520810813_201512_990O.pdf
of all the political cons in the US, the Libertarian, government-is-tyranny, taxation-is-theft schtick has to be the thinnest, most easily exposed.
but apparently all you have to do to turn this kinda of pitch into a long-con is write a bunch of adolescent fiction. Americans, at least, will eat it right up.
blame Hollywood?
in concert and collaboration with wallstreetwood and madisonavewood
Who is Maybarduk?
Just a reminder that to keep competition down, the pharmaceutical industry is at the forefront of anti-pot legalization efforts nationwide.
Norquist is a sociopath. A proud one. If he and his conservative ilk weren’t so successful at destroying mental health treatment in the US, they would be committed. Capitalism is revealing itself to be the fascists ideaology it has always been.
Good job America. You did what the Third Reich couldn’t. You committed genocide against your indigenous peoples, enslaved another people you considered inferior, and you extort everything you want with intimidation and violence. All the while keeping the populace docile with self-aggrandizing media that keeps you in an echo chamber of exceptionalism.
I’m almost glad climate change puts a timeline on this crap. At least we know they’ve already lost.
Profiteering is not capitalism. Capitalism is the practice of pooling money together for a project for a betterment. There are 2 types of betterments, one type is for all persons and the other is for some – only those who can afford it.
Socialism is a “for all” betterment. Profiteerism is the other type. Profiteerism is not in itself inherently bad. Profiteerism is bad when; it is in a life support industry, threatens to withhold life support by asking for sacrifice, is willing to allow loss of life or degredation of standard of living.
The thieves that inhabit wallstreet for decades were never rooted out because elected whores support them. The thieves have managed to recruit and place whores in life support industries in the US and alltogether constitute a perverse crime against humanity and a large network of Racketeering and Organised Crime operation.
The financial industry of thieves attracts persons who would otherwise do B&E operations, hijacking, extortion and blackmail, and purse snatching.
welcome to THIRD WORLD USA
Capitalism is a form of fascism. It’s economic fascism. The fact you have to rationalize it says a lot.
Then again, most all the people who tout capitalism as “the best” tend to be rich old white men.
A good Christian keeps 10% profit.
Shylock owns Wall St and the politicians.
not rationalising, disecting.
capitalism is like CAR POOLING.
what the US has as an economy is not capitalism, it’s a ponzi scheme combined with musical chairs.
The core feature of capitalism is that capital asserts ownership and claims the profits. Owners and investors divide up the profits, while workers simply get whatever price they can for their labor. In a system where interests are balanced and the value of labor means that workers get a reasonable share of wealth, it can chug along reasonably well – at least for a while. Obviously, given human nature and current thinking that’s a total fantasy – and not least because there just isn’t potential for the constant growth required to sustain the overall pyramid scheme anymore.
It’s obvious that capitalism means those with capital claim a cut of the productivity of others through ownership and investment, which makes the ideology that everyone can get rich together if they’ do things right’ hilariously absurd. Even if pigs were to fly and opportunity was truly equalized, if we’re all just taking a slice of each other’s productivity, where does that end us up?
it all depends on how we layer the social cake
WEALTH
COMFORT
LIFE SUPPORT
The issue, of course, being that “we” control nothing. The last election in the US is a sterling example of how people who are suffering decided to vote-in the Ayn Rand Fan Club, because they thought they had nothing to lose. The results are, of course, totally predictable.
Capitalists have typically had to be dragged, kicking and screaming, into measures that preserve their dominant interests by slightly mitigating their worst impulses. But they’ve now finally arranged a bipartisan world where there’s nobody left to do any dragging. Oh well…
“But they’ve now finally arranged a bipartisan world where there’s nobody left to do any dragging.”
Apparently, the Chicago PD is still “dragging” for United Airlines.
(Sorry….couldn’t help myself)
This thread reminds of the Harding College capitalist cartoon from way bback in the day.
The capitalists are friends and family, who are embarrassed to be called so.
The hired laborer/worker is unemployed, doesn’t know how to create the new product ..but teaches himself on the job. Few are afforded that opportunity, “going back to school” and “reeducation” is the mantra pushed by higher ed.
taking the wayback machine, little orphan annie and daddy warbucks used to be a middle class favorite.