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erronis

(14,941 posts)
Thu Nov 29, 2018, 12:03 PM Nov 2018

KHN: Democrats Taking Key Leadership Jobs Have Pocketed Millions from Pharma

https://khn.org/news/democrats-taking-key-leadership-jobs-have-pocketed-millions-from-pharma/
Top House Republican also received more than $1 million from drugmakers since 2007.

Three of the lawmakers who will lead the House next year as Congress focuses on skyrocketing drug costs are among the biggest recipients of campaign contributions from the pharmaceutical industry, a new KHN analysis shows.

On Wednesday, House Democrats selected Rep. Steny Hoyer of Maryland to serve as the next majority leader and Rep. James Clyburn of South Carolina as majority whip, making them the No. 2 and No. 3 most powerful Democrats as their party regains control of the House in January.

...

High drug prices surfaced as a major campaign issue in 2018. With almost half of Americans saying they were worried about prescription drug costs last summer, many Democrats told voters they’d tackle the issue in the next Congress. But the large amount of money going to key Democrats, and Republicans, raises questions about whether Congress will take on the pharmaceutical industry.

In the past decade, members of Congress from both parties have received about $81 million from 68 pharma PACs run by employees of companies that make drugs and industry trade groups.




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KHN: Democrats Taking Key Leadership Jobs Have Pocketed Millions from Pharma (Original Post) erronis Nov 2018 OP
i trust their leadership samnsara Nov 2018 #1
I trust their leadership also but I distrust Pharma. erronis Nov 2018 #2
Their contribution lists are a matter of public record. MineralMan Nov 2018 #3
Good points and questions. KPN Nov 2018 #5
Well, their voting records are also public. MineralMan Nov 2018 #6
Yes, as you do I'm sure. KPN Nov 2018 #8
You are incorrect. MineralMan Nov 2018 #10
This article is about two of our Democratic Party House leaders. KPN Nov 2018 #17
Here's a source you can use quickly... displacedtexan Nov 2018 #7
Thanks. Yeah, I'm aware of opensecrets.org. I just don't have the time to research legislative KPN Nov 2018 #9
I believe that you'll discover that pharmaceutical companies, like MineralMan Nov 2018 #11
You obviously didn't read my post. But thanks KPN Nov 2018 #18
As we all know imputing causality is very difficult. erronis Nov 2018 #25
Well if anyone can take on big pharma would be the Democrats MagickMuffin Nov 2018 #4
Here is an article about drug pricing that is easy to understand ismnotwasm Nov 2018 #12
Thanks for the vox link. I try to absorb everything, but there's a lot! erronis Nov 2018 #15
We need to do a public option for those who can't get Medicaid expansion because the Demsrule86 Nov 2018 #20
KHN Kaiser Headline News WhiteTara Nov 2018 #13
Kaiser Health News is totally separate from Kaiser Permanente erronis Nov 2018 #24
Okay, thanks. It's the Foundation WhiteTara Nov 2018 #26
I worked for a state organization that monitored drug prices. erronis Nov 2018 #14
For what it's worth ismnotwasm Nov 2018 #16
I just hate it when Democratic leaders are trashed unfairly in my opinion. Demsrule86 Nov 2018 #19
The headline was talking about the new House leadership - but it feels weighted erronis Nov 2018 #22
I read the article and did not feel it was balanced. Demsrule86 Nov 2018 #27
Public financing of elections NOW. nt TheFarseer Nov 2018 #21
Which won't happen given the court rulings. Demsrule86 Nov 2018 #28
I think it makes sense for people like Hoyer to get money from them. WeekiWater Nov 2018 #23
PNHP has done research into issues regarding Medicare for All & pharma prices. area51 Nov 2018 #29
Interesting organization (PNHP). I haven't run across them even though Vermont has been a bit at the erronis Nov 2018 #30

MineralMan

(146,189 posts)
3. Their contribution lists are a matter of public record.
Thu Nov 29, 2018, 12:09 PM
Nov 2018

How will they vote on issues having to do with that industry? That can't be predicted from campaign contributions. What are their past voting records on those issues? Do you know?

KPN

(15,585 posts)
5. Good points and questions.
Thu Nov 29, 2018, 12:35 PM
Nov 2018

I sure would like to know their voting records on issues related to the pharmaceutical industry as I don't have faith in the notion that campaign contributions are not necessarily manifested in how a legislator votes. It seems obviously prudent to be skeptical about the influence of contributions in legislators' objectivity when voting.

Lacking the time to personally look up the voting record of these folks in this regard, I'll choose to view them skeptically.

MineralMan

(146,189 posts)
6. Well, their voting records are also public.
Thu Nov 29, 2018, 12:45 PM
Nov 2018

If you get time to go look at them, please let me know if you find they voted in ways that helped the pharmaceutical companies rip off the public.

Lacking any reason to inquire into that, I'll choose to view them as politicians who accept campaign contributions from many sources.

See how that works?

KPN

(15,585 posts)
8. Yes, as you do I'm sure.
Thu Nov 29, 2018, 12:53 PM
Nov 2018

So essentially, as I interpret that, you choose to accept things as they are whether they are actually okay as far as public policy goes or not. Does that mean you don't care?

MineralMan

(146,189 posts)
10. You are incorrect.
Thu Nov 29, 2018, 12:59 PM
Nov 2018

When it comes to the members of Congress from my district and state, I inquire directly about their attitudes toward issues. I do not offer my support unless they generally align with my own views. Fortunately, I am lucky to have representation that does support my views.

For other elected officials, I use a different principle to judge them. In my 50+ years as a voting adult, I have discovered that Democrats, in general, tend to vote in ways that favor the people, rather than corporations. That's why I'm a Democrat. I have also discovered that the opposite is true for Republicans, generally.

Because of that, I don't really spend a lot of time worrying about Democrats who do not directly represent me. I see how they vote, though, when voting is close. But, since I don't vote for them, I leave the voters in their states and districts to judge them when elections come around.

Democrats do a better job than Republicans in representing people. I like that.

KPN

(15,585 posts)
17. This article is about two of our Democratic Party House leaders.
Thu Nov 29, 2018, 02:13 PM
Nov 2018

Not people I can or cannot vote for. Big difference.

KPN

(15,585 posts)
9. Thanks. Yeah, I'm aware of opensecrets.org. I just don't have the time to research legislative
Thu Nov 29, 2018, 12:58 PM
Nov 2018

actions on pharmaceutical issues and relate that back to the specific individuals identified in this Kaiser Health News article.

From a broader standpoint, it's obvious that the industry believes it benefits them to contribute to congressional campaigns. They contribute a significant amount to virtually everyone. That in itself is reason to be skeptical.

MineralMan

(146,189 posts)
11. I believe that you'll discover that pharmaceutical companies, like
Thu Nov 29, 2018, 01:00 PM
Nov 2018

most corporations, donate to candidates of both parties. It's called "hedging your bets." Go look, and you'll see that I'm right.

erronis

(14,941 posts)
25. As we all know imputing causality is very difficult.
Thu Nov 29, 2018, 04:02 PM
Nov 2018

I suppose if Robert Mueller had some extra time he could track down the cause and effect of contributions. The follow-the-money approach. I'd still prefer to see all political donations go into a great big pot for a formulaic and transparent distribution to contenders, incumbents as well as challengers. With CU and other dark-money conduits, it is probably impossible to figure out why congress-critter X voted for/against bill Y.

MagickMuffin

(15,886 posts)
4. Well if anyone can take on big pharma would be the Democrats
Thu Nov 29, 2018, 12:12 PM
Nov 2018

This is why we need corporate money out of politics.

Currently it is a closed loop system: Corporations receive government handouts ( @ taxpayers expense) then the Corporations give the government (Congress) bigly campaign $$$$$ (again @ taxpayers expense)


It is very effective for them, taxpayers not so much.

ismnotwasm

(41,916 posts)
12. Here is an article about drug pricing that is easy to understand
Thu Nov 29, 2018, 01:22 PM
Nov 2018

Why drug prices are out of control here—with a kind of risks and benefit class on what regulation means for the drug market

https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2016/11/30/12945756/prescription-drug-prices-explained


I’m not as concerned about donations as I am about how we are going to obtain Universal healthcare. One of my problems with M4A, is that no, it’s not just as simple an Medicare expansion. As we saw with the ACA, healthcare is enormously complex. I like to see the ACA fixed, and a public option added. As we insure more people,we need a plan for more healthcare workers, as things stand right now their are not enough of everybody, there are areas and fields where healthcare workers find less attractive than others, so we have incentives added. For instance if you want your nurse practitioners license, the field of Psych is cheaper. If you go and work in remote areas, there is often a pay incentive

Drug companies, with their unregulated pricing, are a huge problem. As the I put up article states, do we regulate at the risk of less innovation? Or perhaps we cap prices?

Do you know what doesn’t provide drug companies with sufficient profit, so there is less ‘innovation”? Anti-biotics. Apparently it’s not a sexy field to study, even though resistant strains of bacteria are evolving rapidly and kill people every year. Don’t get me started on molds and fungus strains.

So while “something” needs to be done, Democrats are the ones to do it. Republicans aren’t going to do shit.

erronis

(14,941 posts)
15. Thanks for the vox link. I try to absorb everything, but there's a lot!
Thu Nov 29, 2018, 01:54 PM
Nov 2018

And to your point, the repuglicons aren't going to do shit unless someone pays them a lot. And that's why they do big corp's business.

Demsrule86

(68,347 posts)
20. We need to do a public option for those who can't get Medicaid expansion because the
Thu Nov 29, 2018, 02:33 PM
Nov 2018

states refused to expand Medicaid or are too poor the ACA but too rich for Medicaid. We should not try to put the entire country on Medicare as it would be very very difficult and end the way Clinton care did in the 90's...there are jobs involved and tax implications also. As for Pharma, a start would be to make them negotiate for Medicaid, Medicare, the ACA and any other government entity.

WhiteTara

(29,676 posts)
13. KHN Kaiser Headline News
Thu Nov 29, 2018, 01:40 PM
Nov 2018

Sounds like Kaiser Permenante is weaseling here. I'm sure there's more to come. But damn let's get money out of politics.

erronis

(14,941 posts)
24. Kaiser Health News is totally separate from Kaiser Permanente
Thu Nov 29, 2018, 03:56 PM
Nov 2018

I've been a Kaiser Permanente client and thought the same. They are totally different organizations.

From https://khn.org/

About Kaiser Health News

Kaiser Health News (KHN) is a nonprofit news service covering health issues. It is an editorially independent program of the Kaiser Family Foundation, which is not affiliated with Kaiser Permanente.

WhiteTara

(29,676 posts)
26. Okay, thanks. It's the Foundation
Thu Nov 29, 2018, 04:12 PM
Nov 2018

and their totally "independent" pr firm. I don't think that Hoyer and Clyburn are the people they think are bad--they want someone bad to the bone, i.e., a republicon.?

erronis

(14,941 posts)
14. I worked for a state organization that monitored drug prices.
Thu Nov 29, 2018, 01:52 PM
Nov 2018

My experience is that there is a lot of churn in the drug industry driven by profits that cause the increase in profits.

Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) are a middleman that can obscure true pricing and drive up the costs.

Large pharma buying up generic drug manufacturers as well as tweaking a generic formula to get a new patent are another huge factor.

Not allowing CMS (Medicare) to negotiate prices is a crime that is allowed by the congress.

For most of the developed world, prices are far lower than in the US. The medical "industry" (including pharma) is not run as much as a for-profit corporation as a for-the-good-of-the-people entity. After all, people that aren't constantly getting sick are less of a drain on government than those that can't afford to stay healthy.

And don't get me started on the Sackler murderers who got so many people hooked and dead. The societal costs of the opioid epidemic along with the necessary treatment of comorbidities is staggering.

ismnotwasm

(41,916 posts)
16. For what it's worth
Thu Nov 29, 2018, 02:10 PM
Nov 2018

I’m a Med-surg RN, I randomly asked one of our surgeons about M4A or any other path to universal healthcare. He, like me, thought it needs to me done, but that the right pathway needs to be found.

He also identified the biggest obstacle as Pharmaceutical companies, which is interesting since he’s a surgeon, and not a Med doctor. He was well aware of the stranglehold drug companies have on healthcare practitioners

erronis

(14,941 posts)
22. The headline was talking about the new House leadership - but it feels weighted
Thu Nov 29, 2018, 02:47 PM
Nov 2018

against the Democrats. The article is more balanced. I'm glad I don't have to synopsize a full article into a caption (or a twit as we now say.)

Demsrule86

(68,347 posts)
28. Which won't happen given the court rulings.
Fri Nov 30, 2018, 12:14 PM
Nov 2018

No doubt it would be a great idea... but is not possible. Thus for the time being until we figure out a way to get rid of United, our people need to raise money.

 

WeekiWater

(3,259 posts)
23. I think it makes sense for people like Hoyer to get money from them.
Thu Nov 29, 2018, 03:02 PM
Nov 2018

While Hoyer wants to see rx drug prices come down and his a history showing just that(including on the record votes), he also has and wants to continue to drastically expand the group of people able to have affordable access to their products. Makes sense.

area51

(11,868 posts)
29. PNHP has done research into issues regarding Medicare for All & pharma prices.
Fri Nov 30, 2018, 01:57 PM
Nov 2018

There is no reason for people in this country to die, or to go bankrupt trying to pay for medical care. Other counties that are first world offer healthcare, by various methods. PNHP link

erronis

(14,941 posts)
30. Interesting organization (PNHP). I haven't run across them even though Vermont has been a bit at the
Fri Nov 30, 2018, 02:06 PM
Nov 2018

forefront of healthcare payment reform.

Thanks for the reference.

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