Post by unlawflcombatnt on May 6, 2012 0:03:38 GMT -6
from Bloomberg:
Drugmakers’ Deal With Obama Said to Be Probed by House
May 4, 2012
by Drew Armstrong
"Pfizer Inc. and Merck & Co. are being pulled into an expanding congressional investigation about the agreement drugmakers reached with the Obama administration to support the Democrats’ overhaul of the U.S. health-care system, according to three people familiar with the talks.
The probe began last year, with Republicans on the House Energy and Commerce Committee seeking documents from an industry trade group, said the people, who aren’t authorized to speak publicly. When that group didn’t cooperate, the panel decided to target Pfizer, the world’s biggest drugmaker, along with Merck, Amgen Inc. (AMGN), Abbott Laboratories (ABT) and AstraZeneca Plc (AZN), said one of the people.
The Republicans last month began negotiating directly with the companies in e-mails, calls and meetings demanding documents and information outlining what the industry agreed to with President Barack Obama in 2009 and 2010, when the law was being worked on in Congress. Michael Burgess, a Representative from Texas, said he’s been frustrated by a lack of cooperation.
“This has been like pulling teeth, trying to get information,” said Burgess, a Republican working on the panel’s investigation, in a telephone interview.
A White House spokesman declined to comment about the investigation....
An ‘Inconstant Love’
The investigation is part of a tenuous relationship that has developed between the industry and politicians since passage of a law that expanded health insurance to more than 30 million Americans, said Alec Vachon, a health-care consultant who is president of Hamilton PPB in Washington. The pharmaceutical industry has loosened its ties to Republicans, who were united in voting against the law.
About 54% of the industry’s political donations in the first quarter of 2012 went to Republicans, down from a 74% share in 2002....
Committee Demands
The almost $1 trillion, 10-year plan for overhauling the health-care system passed through Congress without a single Republican vote in either the House or Senate. The insurance expansion is funded partly by more than $100 billion in taxes and discounts on products the drug industry offered to the White House. In return, the newly insured will be able to buy the drugmakers’ pills using their new coverage.
The committee’s demands so far have been limited to e-mails and meetings with company lobbyists and lawyers, without subpoenas or formal letters that can be used to push uncooperative targets into compliance, a person familiar said....
‘How Dare They’
Drug company executives have said they are worried that providing the committee with a bundle of documents will create more problems than it solves, according to two people familiar with the investigation.
“Any time you disclose documents, you have no idea what rocks you’re going to turn over,” Vachon said. “There’s no upside here.”
Parts of the health law expanding insurance coverage have been challenged as unconstitutional by 26 states, which may make this year treacherous for the industry.
PhRMA....is concerned...by...future health legislation that could flow out of a Supreme Court ruling against the law.
The trade group cited a potential overhaul of Medicare’s payments to doctors, or new health insurance rules.
A Supreme Court ruling that invalidates parts of the law could restart the debate on what to do about health care, said Eli Lilly & Co. (LLY) Chief Executive Officer John Lechleiter....
The court plans to rule on the law’s constitutionality in June.
The industry has found little sympathy from Democrats, who say drugmakers still get too good a deal from government health- care programs....
$240 Million Lobby
PhRMA and the rest of the drug and health products lobby, Washington’s largest, spent $240 million in 2011 and registered over 1,500 lobbyists, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
Along with drugmakers, the committee has asked questions of about 10 other groups, including doctors and hospitals. They also demanded that the White House turn over information on negotiations between the health industry and Democrats, and have so far been foiled.
“This is not a beef with anyone in the industry. I’m perfectly OK that they went to the White House and advocated on behalf of the industry, that’s part of the way things are done,” Burgess, the Republican from Texas, said. “What I’ve got a problem with is the door being closed to the rest of us.” "
Drugmakers’ Deal With Obama Said to Be Probed by House
May 4, 2012
by Drew Armstrong
"Pfizer Inc. and Merck & Co. are being pulled into an expanding congressional investigation about the agreement drugmakers reached with the Obama administration to support the Democrats’ overhaul of the U.S. health-care system, according to three people familiar with the talks.
The probe began last year, with Republicans on the House Energy and Commerce Committee seeking documents from an industry trade group, said the people, who aren’t authorized to speak publicly. When that group didn’t cooperate, the panel decided to target Pfizer, the world’s biggest drugmaker, along with Merck, Amgen Inc. (AMGN), Abbott Laboratories (ABT) and AstraZeneca Plc (AZN), said one of the people.
The Republicans last month began negotiating directly with the companies in e-mails, calls and meetings demanding documents and information outlining what the industry agreed to with President Barack Obama in 2009 and 2010, when the law was being worked on in Congress. Michael Burgess, a Representative from Texas, said he’s been frustrated by a lack of cooperation.
“This has been like pulling teeth, trying to get information,” said Burgess, a Republican working on the panel’s investigation, in a telephone interview.
A White House spokesman declined to comment about the investigation....
An ‘Inconstant Love’
The investigation is part of a tenuous relationship that has developed between the industry and politicians since passage of a law that expanded health insurance to more than 30 million Americans, said Alec Vachon, a health-care consultant who is president of Hamilton PPB in Washington. The pharmaceutical industry has loosened its ties to Republicans, who were united in voting against the law.
About 54% of the industry’s political donations in the first quarter of 2012 went to Republicans, down from a 74% share in 2002....
Committee Demands
The almost $1 trillion, 10-year plan for overhauling the health-care system passed through Congress without a single Republican vote in either the House or Senate. The insurance expansion is funded partly by more than $100 billion in taxes and discounts on products the drug industry offered to the White House. In return, the newly insured will be able to buy the drugmakers’ pills using their new coverage.
The committee’s demands so far have been limited to e-mails and meetings with company lobbyists and lawyers, without subpoenas or formal letters that can be used to push uncooperative targets into compliance, a person familiar said....
‘How Dare They’
Drug company executives have said they are worried that providing the committee with a bundle of documents will create more problems than it solves, according to two people familiar with the investigation.
“Any time you disclose documents, you have no idea what rocks you’re going to turn over,” Vachon said. “There’s no upside here.”
Parts of the health law expanding insurance coverage have been challenged as unconstitutional by 26 states, which may make this year treacherous for the industry.
PhRMA....is concerned...by...future health legislation that could flow out of a Supreme Court ruling against the law.
The trade group cited a potential overhaul of Medicare’s payments to doctors, or new health insurance rules.
A Supreme Court ruling that invalidates parts of the law could restart the debate on what to do about health care, said Eli Lilly & Co. (LLY) Chief Executive Officer John Lechleiter....
The court plans to rule on the law’s constitutionality in June.
The industry has found little sympathy from Democrats, who say drugmakers still get too good a deal from government health- care programs....
$240 Million Lobby
PhRMA and the rest of the drug and health products lobby, Washington’s largest, spent $240 million in 2011 and registered over 1,500 lobbyists, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
Along with drugmakers, the committee has asked questions of about 10 other groups, including doctors and hospitals. They also demanded that the White House turn over information on negotiations between the health industry and Democrats, and have so far been foiled.
“This is not a beef with anyone in the industry. I’m perfectly OK that they went to the White House and advocated on behalf of the industry, that’s part of the way things are done,” Burgess, the Republican from Texas, said. “What I’ve got a problem with is the door being closed to the rest of us.” "