NYTIMES>>>>>Helping elderly people pay for their medicine is a hot topic in presidential
politics; in the debate on Tuesday, the candidates clashed repeatedly over
how to accomplish that. The companies, fearing a government- run plan
would lead to price controls, are siding squarely with Gov. George Bush of
Texas and other Republicans who want to keep the government out of the
drug insurance business.
The drug makers' message is emotional and simple: don't interfere with our
ability to save lives. To get it across, the top 15 pharmaceutical companies
spent nearly $60 million last year, up from $45 million in 1998. They have
hired the usual group of former government officials as lobbyists, have
financed studies to advance their views, and run expensive advertising
campaigns to soften their image.
"We have refused to play only defense and serve as a punching bag for
those who want to attack the industry as a means of pursuing their own
political agendas," Gordon Binder, the president of Amgen, said in April, in
his farewell address as chairman of the industry trade group. "We have
succeeded in changing the substance and nature of the debate." NOTHING LIKE THE DRUG LOBBY TO KEEP PRICES UP..........but they're no different than the tobacco, steel, oil lobbies..........their only interest is in making lots of money. They don't care if their quest hurts the small guy.Their motto isn't "give me liberty or give me death" but " give me money or give me tax breaks." |
