Drug Makers and White House Make Up: PhRMA Readies Ads Favoring Health Reform

[Orwellian_Ghost]

Drug Makers and White House Make Up: PhRMA Readies Ads Favoring Health Reform

August 9, 2009

It’s been a wild roller coaster ride for the White House this week, as it sought to clamp down on a mini-revolt by some lawmakers enraged at the reported terms of a deal reached with the drug industry in return for its support of President Obama’s health care reform.

At the same time, PhRMA, the pharmaceutical industry’s lobbying group, sought to publicly pressure the White House to clarify the terms of the agreement in its favor, making a classic pincer move.

According to the New York Times, despite a shaky few days, PhRMA and the White House have made up and the drug industry is now set to launch a $150 million television advertising blitz supporting Obama’s health care reform, due to begin in August. This is a huge expenditure, when compared to the $126 million John McCain spent on his presidential campaign, as noted by the Times.

The new multimillion ad campaign comes on top of millions of dollars already spent for advertising supporting health care reform through other groups, such as Healthy Economies Now and Families USA and about $1 million spent on ads under its own name.

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http://chattahbox.com/us/2009/08/09/drug-makers-and-white-house-make-up-phrma-readies-ads-favoring-health-reform/