Why Do You Need Your Own Money?

I was watching tv tonight, when I saw a commercial for a group named PhRMA which argued against changes to the medicare prescrition drug benefit. First off, who is PhRMA? In their own words:

The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) represents the country’s leading pharmaceutical research and biotechnology companies, which are devoted to inventing medicines that allow patients to live longer, healthier, and more productive lives.

Okay, so it's an interest group for pharmacutical companies. Surely, however, they wouldn't engage in partisan politics to avoid controls on prices for percription drugs paid by taxpayers? Like, a right wing rag like the Wall Street Journal would never say anything like that, right?

Wednesday, 10/25/2006

Fearing a Democratic Victory, Drug Makers Fund Key Races

Cash Fuels Campaign Debate About Medicare Benefit; Oil, Finance Follow Suit

Wall Street Journal

...Congressional Republican leaders prevented Medicare from negotiating prices with the industry. They also killed a proposal that would have allowed the government to offer its own coverage in competition with those sold by private companies. The industry successfully argued that the government's clout would mess up prices and stifle innovation.

Sen. Jim Talent of Missouri benefited from $900,000 in ads this year touting his role in the prescription-drug benefit, according to a tally by Americans United for Change, a liberal advocacy group with close ties to congressional Democrats. Mr. Talent made a similar pitch in two TV ads as well as in a recent debate with his Democratic challenger, Claire McCaskill.

Okay. So they supported Republicans who helped Bush enact this plan with absolute price controls restricting the Government from using free market principles to negotiate lower prices. But I'm sure they didn't release basically what is nearly the same exact commercial in support of Jim Talent last Fall.



Oh. Okay. So maybe PhRMA is a corporate shill which exists solely to screw the taxpayer by making sure that their bought and paid for congressional representatives cut them sweetheart deals. But I'm sure they're nice to their mothers.