Friday, August 14, 2009

HuffPo Breaks News of Obama Drug Company Pay for Play Deal

Now even the leftists at HuffPo are starting to push back against ObamaCare exposing some Chicago-style deep-dish pay-for-play. I wonder if HuffPo will be turned in for fishy behavior to the White House snitch-line? In any case, this is quite damning evidence about White House/drug maker inside deal making though.

It says the White House agreed to oppose any congressional efforts to use the government's leverage to bargain for lower drug prices or import drugs from Canada -- and also agreed not to pursue Medicare rebates or shift some drugs from Medicare Part B to Medicare Part D, which would cost Big Pharma billions in reduced reimbursements.

In exchange, the Pharmaceutical Researchers and Manufacturers Association (PhRMA) agreed to cut $80 billion in projected costs to taxpayers and senior citizens over ten years. Or, as the memo says: "Commitment of up to $80 billion, but not more than $80 billion."

I wonder if that was the "Hope and Change" that leftists were counting on? This pandering to corporate interests flies directly in the face of the anti-corporation culture of the Left. I think this revelation might do some long term damage to Obama's Presidency then anything that has gone before. It is almost worthy of a Gate on the end. I'll call it PharmaGate for now.

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