Remember this?
The passage of the prescription-drug plan – which seniors across the country are slamming for its confusion, high costs and capriciousness – comes with accounts of strong-arm tactics to push it through the House by pharmaceutical and health care companies showering campaign gifts on key lawmakers, and cozy arrangements for those who wrote the bill and then departed for lucrative jobs as lobbyists.
A few specific instances:
Former Rep. Billy Tauzin, R-La., retired from Congress to become chief executive of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers Association — PhRMA, the drug industry’s top lobbying organization. And Thomas Scully, appointed by Bush to run the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, took two jobs after leaving office — one with the country’s largest private equity investor in health care and another with an Atlanta-based health care law firm.
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Ties to Abramoff and Delay?
Alexander Strategy Group has been described as “one of the crown jewels of the … ‘K Street project.'” Other reports have linked the firm or its lobbyists to an expanding number of scandals. These include suspect arrangements involving Indian gambling, the U.S. Family Network, the Northern Marianas Islands, defrauding clients, and corrupt schemes to stop legislation involving internet gambling and to oppose postal rate increases. Tom DeLay and Jack Abramoff figure prominently in these scandals.
The pharmaceutical industry has been the largest client of the Alexander Strategy Group. The industry’s trade association, PhRMA, paid $1.7 million to Alexander Strategy Group and individual drug companies have paid an additional $840,000. In 2003, when Medicare D(isaster) was passed, Alexander Strategy Group received $960,000 from the drug industry, representing 15% of the firm’s revenue.
Also, the Alexander Strategy Group was hired specifically to lobby the House and Senate on prescription drug issues and Medicare. Eli Lilly, AstraZeneca, and Amgen paid the Alexander Strategy Group $300,000 during the first six months of last year to lobby on prescription drug issues.
In addition to what was paid to the Alexander Strategy Group, the following individuals receieved varying amounts from the pharmaceutical industry.
[Billy] Tauzin got $274,500; Rep. Bill Thomas, R-Bakersfield, got more than $432,000; Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, took almost $427,000; Rep. Nancy Johnson, R-Conn., took $731,517; Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., received $271,649; and Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, took $296,429.
Coincidentally, Senator Charles Grassley prefers administrative remedies to Medicare D(isaster), as opposed to additional legislation.
“Let’s focus on the administrative remedies now because they will deliver help a lot faster than any legislation.”
However, Grassley does admit that Medicare D(isaster) has not performed in the mannet that it was expected.
“I’d like to say that the implementation has gone smoothly…We all know it hasn’t, especially for some of the nation’s most frail and neediest beneficiaries.”
Wonder why?
