PBS: Healthcare Industry Is Spending $1.4 million A Day Fighting Healthcare Reform

It is really sad how the major networds refuse to engage in real journalism anymore. In contrast, here is a great article on PBS discussing how the healthcare industry is spending millions of dollars on lobbying and campaign contributions to block healthcare reform. Yet, many folks on DU attack President Obama and blame him for the fact that the message is being garbled, as though fighting billion dollar special interests would be easy. There is a reason why healthcare reform has not happened for decades, and why President Obama is encountering such steep opposition from so called "centrists" in his own party. Here is a story that you just will not see on the major networks.

http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/07312009/profile2.html

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In his conversation with Bill Moyers, former CIGNA executive Wendell Potter spoke of the hold profits have on health care policy. "It does offend me that the vested special interests, who are so profitable and so powerful, are able to influence public policy in the way that they have, and the way that they've done over the years. And the insurance industry has been one of the most successful, in beating back any kinds of legislation that would hinder or affect the profitability of the companies."

On July 6, 2009 the WASHINGTON POST reported on two aspects of this easy flow between government and industry, money and politics. "Familiar Players in Health Bill Lobbying Firms Are Enlisting Ex-Lawmakers, Aides," documents the revolving door: "The nation's largest insurers, hospitals and medical groups have hired more than 350 former government staff members and retired members of Congress in hopes of influencing their old bosses and colleagues, according to an analysis of lobbying disclosures and other records."

In addition, the POST story calculated the amount that the health industry is spending to lobby against elements of proposed health care reform to the tune of $1.4 million a day. Indeed, "Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) doubled its spending to nearly $7 million in the first quarter of 2009, followed by Pfizer, with more than $6 million."

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...towards making sure we have to keep paying those high insurance premiums. :grr:

Its a violation of their responsibility under the Constitution.

"The most effectual engines for are the public papers... government always a kind of standing army of newswriters who, without any regard to truth or to what should be like truth, and put into the papers whatever might serve the ministers. This suffices with the mass of the people who have no means of distinguishing the false from the true paragraphs of a newspaper." --Thomas Jefferson to G. K. van Hogendorp, Oct. 13, 1785. (*) ME 5:181, Papers 8:632

"Our liberty cannot be guarded but by the freedom of the press, nor that be limited without danger of losing it." --Thomas Jefferson to John Jay, 1786.

Infuriating their customers & wasting perfectly good premium dollars (which will kill some of it's customers) is a criminal act IMO.

I hope this motivates Democrats even more. I know it motivates me :mad:

Is it a coincidence that long dead stories about President Obama's birth and wild-eyed rumors about healthcare reform being used to kill the elderly are being spread? This is an all out assault by an industry that benefits from 16% of GDP being directed to it. They simply will not allow reform, and will destroy President Obama's tenure, particularly if the left does not support President Obama's efforts to reform the healthcare industry. Do we really think it will get easier in the future?

Obama has survived a wildly unpopular bank bailout and I think he will bounce back once a bill has been passed and signed into law. I think we'll be surprised at how popular this effort is once it's reality. Making the sausage is never pretty, but it sure tastes good.

where is the outrage? THEY are literally killing people. It's not Obama's new ideas that will kill (old) people. It's what's happening NOW.

I really wish this was talked about more than just Bill Moyers show.

Oh, no, wait, we still have breaking Michael Jackson news...... pathetic.

is a license for the medical industry to fleece the hell out of all of us!

How can it not be more clear when they are spending 1.4 MILLION A DAY to win?!!!!


WAKE UP AMERICA!!!