Drug Companies spend $ millions lobbying
An Article by Robert Pear of the New York Times details the awsome lobbying force of the drug companies to fight ... lower prices for medicines.
"Lobbyists for the drug industry are stepping up spending to influence Congress, the states and even foreign governments as the debate intensifies over how to provide prescription drug benefits to the elderly, industry executives say.
Confidential budget documents from the leading pharmaceutical trade group show that it will spend millions of dollars lobbying Congress and state legislatures, fighting price controls around the world, subsidizing "like-minded organizations" and paying economists to produce op-ed articles and monographs in response to critics."
June 1, 2003
Drug Companies Increase Spending to Lobby Congress and Governments
By ROBERT PEAR
ASHINGTON, May 31 - Lobbyists for the drug industry are stepping up spending to influence Congress, the states and even foreign governments as the debate intensifies over how to provide prescription drug benefits to the elderly, industry executives say.
Confidential budget documents from the leading pharmaceutical trade group show that it will spend millions of dollars lobbying Congress and state legislatures, fighting price controls around the world, subsidizing "like-minded organizations" and paying economists to produce op-ed articles and monographs in response to critics.
The industry is worried that price controls and other regulations will tie the drug makers' hands as state, federal and foreign governments try to expand access to affordable drugs.
The documents show that the trade association, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, known as PhRMA, will spend at least $150 million in the coming year.
That represents an increase of 23 percent over this year's budget of $121.7 million.
Directors of the trade association approved the new budget, together with an increase in membership dues to pay for an expanded lobbying campaign, at a meeting last week.
"Unless we achieve enactment this year of market-based Medicare drug coverage for seniors, the industry's vulnerability will increase in the remainder of 2003 and in the 2004 election year," says one document, which laments the "demonization of the industry."
Congress will plunge into work on Medicare soon after it reconvenes next week. President Bush and Congressional leaders have said they intend to revamp Medicare and add drug benefits for the elderly. Both houses plan to vote on the legislation before the Fourth of July recess. But a struggle over drug costs and benefits is likely to continue for months, or years.
The drug trade group plans to spend $1 million for an "intellectual echo chamber of economists - a standing network of economists and thought leaders to speak against federal price control regulations through articles and testimony, and to serve as a rapid response team."
The trade association and its tactics have become an issue. In debate on the Senate floor last summer, Senator Richard J. Durbin, Democrat of Illinois, said, "PhRMA, this lobby, has a death grip on Congress."
Senator Charles E. Schumer, Democrat of New York, said the drug industry made wonderful products, but was becoming "despised and hated" because of its aggressive efforts to keep prices and profits high.
But Senator Orrin G. Hatch, Republican of Utah, defended the trade group, saying it had been vilifed as a "satanic" force, "a bunch of greedy, money-grubbing companies." In fact, he said, drug makers do more than any other industry to help people.
The pharmaceutical association gets nearly all its revenue from dues paid by member companies, according to the documents, which were obtained from people in the industry. Dues will total $143.8 million in the coming year, an increase of 24 percent, or $28.3 million, over this year's dues, the documents show.
In its budget for the fiscal year that begins on July 1, the pharmaceutical lobby earmarks $72.7 million for advocacy at the federal level, directed mainly at Congress; $4.9 million to lobby the Food and Drug Administration; and $48.7 million for advocacy at the state level.
In addition, the budget sets aside $17.5 million to fight price controls and protect patent rights in foreign countries and in trade negotiations.
The PhRMA budget allocates $1 million "to change the Canadian health care system" and $450,000 to stem the flow of low-price prescription drugs from online pharmacies in Canada to customers in the United States.
The major pharmaceutical companies operate in global markets. Canada, like many industrial countries, offers health insurance to all citizens, but limits drug prices.
A memorandum for the PhRMA board says the industry is on the defensive, facing a "perfect storm" whipped up by several factors: "expanding government price controls abroad, resulting in politically unsustainable cross-border pricing differences; increasing availability of medicines from abroad via Internet sales"; state ballot initiatives to make drugs more affordable in the United States; increasing state demands for drug discounts in the Medicaid program; and "false perceptions that drug prices are increasing by 20 percent a year."
Exact comparisons are difficult, but a group facing similar problems, the American Association of Health Plans, budgeted $26 million this year to lobby for health maintenance organizations.
In its budget, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America says it will spend these amounts in the coming year:
- $15.8 million to fight "a union-driven, get-out-the-vote ballot initiative in Ohio," which would lower drug prices for people who have no insurance to cover such costs.
- At least $2 million, and perhaps $2.5 million, in payments to research and policy organizations, "to build intellectual capital and generate a higher volume of messages from credible sources" sympathetic to the industry.
- $9.4 million for public relations, including "$1 million for inside-the-Beltway advertising, $555,000 for placement of op-eds and articles by third parties," $600,000 for polling, $1.3 million for local publicity in 15 states and $680,000 for media relations consultants.
The federal affairs staff at PhRMA has quadrupled, to 20 employees today from 5 in 1999. The organization plans to spend $5 million for outside lobbyists at the federal level. In their campaign contributions, drug companies have favored Republican candidates. But PhRMA has retained a diverse group of lobbyists to ensure access to politicians of both parties.
Its Democratic lobbyists, listed in recent reports to Congress, include former Representative Vic Fazio of California; David W. Beier, who was chief domestic policy adviser to Vice President Al Gore; Joel P. Johnson, who was a top aide to President Bill Clinton and to Senator Tom Daschle, the minority leader; and Nick Littlefield, former chief counsel for Senator Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts.
Republicans who reported lobbying for PhRMA include former Representatives Vin Weber of Minnesota and Bill Paxon of New York; Dave Larson, former health policy adviser to Bill Frist, now the Senate majority leader; Edwin A. Buckham, former chief of staff to Tom DeLay, now the House majority leader; and Scott Hatch, the son of Senator Hatch.
The state government affairs division of PhRMA will spend $3.1 million to retain more than 60 lobbyists in the 50 states. The number of state legislative proposals dealing with prescription drugs has doubled since 1999. The drug industry says many of the bills "are seriously negative, have a high probability of enactment and require major attention on our part."
Dale Butland, a spokesman for the coalition seeking lower drug prices in Ohio, said the drug industry lobby was "spending money like water here," challenging the validity of signatures on petitions seeking a statewide referendum.
PhRMA said it would spend $12.3 million to develop coalitions and strategic alliances with doctors, patients, universities and influential members of minority groups.
The organization has earmarked several million dollars to foster ties with groups like the National Black Caucus of State Legislators, the National Hispanic Caucus of State Legislators and the National Medical Association, which represents the interests of African-American doctors.
The budget includes $500,000 for efforts to "educate and activate Hispanic-Latino organizations on a state and federal level."
Several Hispanic groups have joined the drug industry in opposing state efforts to control Medicaid costs by establishing lists of preferred drugs. The Texas League of United Latin American Citizens issued a statement last year saying it "stands solidly" behind a lawsuit filed by the industry to block the use of such lists.
Luis Roberto Vera Jr., general counsel of the Texas Latino league, said it received $10,000 from PhRMA to help pay for a workshop on Latino health issues last year. But "there was no quid pro quo," Mr. Vera said.
Ana Yanez-Correa, policy director for the Texas group, said PhRMA was "overstating and misrepresenting the amount of support it had" from Latinos.
Dr. L. Natalie Carroll, president of the National Medical Association, said her group had received small amounts of money from PhRMA. The grants, she said, helped the association publish research showing that different racial groups respond differently to some drugs.
As a result, Dr. Carroll said, state policies steering patients to the cheapest drug in a therapeutic class could be particularly harmful to black patients.
See also
Recent (Jan. 04) article in New York TimesRevealed: how stars were hijacked to boost health company's profits
Book by Jeffrey Robinson Prescription Games: Life, Death and Money Inside the Global Pharmaceutical Industry
Drug companies are top health care lobbyists
Pharmaceutical Companies Offer Doctors Free Trips, Gifts for Prescriptions
The Truth About the Drug Companies
The Once-Solid Foundations Of The Big Pharma Colossus Are Shaking says Marcia Angell, a former editor of the New England Journal Of Medicine in her upcoming book...Drugmakers go furthest to sway Congress
WASHINGTON - When Sen. Bill Frist needed help in November for a quick tour celebrating the victories of newly elected Republican senators, he didn't have to look far. A Gulfstream corporate jet owned by drugmaker Schering-Plough was ready to zip the Senate majority leader to stops in Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas...Drug Lobby Second to None
How the pharmaceutical industry gets its way in WashingtonIndustry Puts $44 Million into State Lobbying
WASHINGTON, April 6, 2006 — Fighting a flurry of legislative and public policy initiatives aimed at reducing prices and slicing drug budgets, the pharmaceutical industry spent more than $44 million on lobbying state governments in 2003 and 2004, a Center for Public Integrity analysis of lobbying records has found. The industry also funneled more than $8 million to the campaigns of candidates for various state offices over the same period, according to a Center analysis of state campaign money.The Big Spenders: Tracking The Lobbying Dollars
This chart shows which drugmaker spent how much on lobbying Congress and federal agencies last year, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. One point worth noting is that the Roche Group - when including Hoffman-La Roche, Genentech and the various law firms retained to knock on doors and schmooze over meals - ranked as the 5th largest lobbying entity with $11.35 million spent.Pharma Sets Spending Record Lobbying Congress
The $168 million thrown at lobbyists amounted to a 32 percent jump over 2006, according to an analysis by the Center for Public Integrity, which was based on data obtained from the Senate Office of Public Records. In all, the group says that drugmakers have spent more than $1 billion lobbying the federal government over the past decade."As the biggest lobby on the Hill, the pharmaceutical industry wields tremendous influence that impacts everything from prescriptions to patents," Bill Buzenberg, the group's director, says in a statement. "The central point is that their massive spending has been highly successful, largely producing the political results the drug industry wants."
posted by Sepp Hasslberger on Tuesday June 3 2003
updated on Wednesday June 25 2008URL of this article:
http://www.newmediaexplorer.org/sepp/2003/06/03/drug_companies_spend_millions_lobbying.htm
Related ArticlesPharma Financing Front Groups: Political Lobby
Drug companies have been known to spend millions of dollars to influence Congress and government, but recently, a new twist has been added to the story. Public Citizen says that the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) has quietly given $ 41 million to "stealth PACs" in 2002 and failed to mention most of it to the IRS. The pharma-funded groups, which have innocent sounding names, such as 60... [read more]
September 30, 2004 - Sepp HasslbergerPharma profits do not equal health - Berkely Prof advocates alternative
As reported in BBC News today, Nobel-prize winner and Berkely Prof Sydney Brenner, an expert on molecular biology, said people should be told to look after their health instead of expecting science to "come to their rescue with a pill". "There are two kinds of health care. There's taking care of the health of the public and there's taking care of the financial health of the drug companies," added Brenner.... [read more]
September 03, 2003 - Sepp HasslbergerPharma: Tame Watchdogs Not Protecting Public Health
In a recent article, The Guardian has exposed the unhealthy relationship between Big Pharma and the UK "watchdog", the MHRA or Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, which appears to be a pharma-controlled promotional agency, rather than a provider of checks and balances on the work of this incredibly profitable industry. The "revolving door syndrome" which Professor Abraham sees in the UK, closely parallels the analogous situation in the US,... [read more]
October 07, 2004 - Sepp HasslbergerPharmaceutical corporations accused of Genocide before ICC in The Hague
June 14, 2003 - The Hague Pharmaceutical corporations and individual executives have been accused of genocide and crimes of war before the International Criminal Court in The Hague. The charges, which also involve accusations of war crimes against US President George W. Bush, UK Prime Minister Tony Blair and other top political figures, are contained in a detailed complaint filed with the ICC by Dr. Mathias Rath. Pharmaceutical companies including... [read more]
June 23, 2003 - Sepp HasslbergerMedical system is leading cause of death and injury in US
Shocking statistical evidence is cited by Gary Null PhD, Caroly Dean MD ND, Martin Feldman MD, Debora Rasio MD and Dorothy Smith PhD in their recent paper Death by Medicine - October 2003, released by the Nutrition Institute of America. "A definitive review and close reading of medical peer-review journals, and government health statistics shows that American medicine frequently causes more harm than good. The number of people having in-hospital,... [read more]
October 29, 2003 - Sepp HasslbergerVioxx, Celebrex, Prozac: Bush Medical Malpractice Bill To Shield Pharma
Tucked away "like a gleaming diamond in proposed legislation to curb malpractice lawsuits is a provision that would give an unconscionable degree of protection to firms responsible for drugs or medical devices that turn out to be harmful", says New York Times columnist Bob Herbert in his latest editorial, A Gift for Drug Makers. The provision is set to prohibit judges from awarding punitive damages if a drug has received... [read more]
January 16, 2005 - Sepp Hasslberger
