PhRMA helps Obama with Health Care Reform

Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America is a major player in helping Obama create health care reform.

According to Ron Pollack, executive director of Families USA, the partnership with the deep-pocketed drug industry is one of mutual self-interest, even though the two groups disagree on numerous issues. "We want to achieve coverage for everyone. For PhRMA, this would improve volume for prescription sales because everyone" would have better access to medicine, he said.
Any health care bill that makes it to Obama's desk is expected to extend health insurance to the nearly 50 million who now lack it. That would mean a huge new pool of potential customers for drug companies and other health care providers. That, in turn, has created an incentive to offer concessions to the White House and lawmakers in hopes of shaping the bill, rather than simply opposing it."

Evidently PhRMA is rolling out a huge media campaign in the fall.


"Drugmakers were the first group to reach agreement with the White House and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., announcing several weeks ago that they would absorb $80 billion in costs over a decade.
Even before the announcement, according to several individuals, the White House sought help from PhRMA in passing legislation.
Now, with the legislation under attack, the industry is providing key support during August as Republicans work to inflict a high-profile defeat on the president.
A significantly more ambitious advertising effort by PhRMA is expected to begin around Labor Day."


AP reports that a "staggering sum will dwarf attempts to derail Obama's plans."

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http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090808/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_health_care_drugmakers