Drug Companies, White House Reach $80B Prescription Drug Deal

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Huffington Post

WASHINGTON — The pharmaceutical industry agreed Saturday to spend $80 billion over the next decade improving drug benefits for seniors on Medicare and defraying the cost of President Barack Obama's health care legislation, capping secretive negotiations involving key lawmakers and the White House.

"This new coverage means affordable prices on prescription drugs when Medicare benefits don't cover the cost of prescriptions," Sen. Max Baucus, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, said in a statement announcing the accord.

The deal marked a major triumph for Baucus as well as the administration. Obama praised the deal.

"The agreement by pharmaceutical companies to contribute to the health reform effort comes on the heels of the landmark pledge many health industry leaders made to me last month, when they offered to do their part to reduce health spending $2 trillion over the next decade," Obama said. "We are at a turning point in America's journey toward health care reform."

Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/06/20/deal-reached-on-cutting-p_n_218431.html

---

Weekend evening news dump for something very important.

[rocktivity]

1. If they're dumping it over the weekend--and in advance of a reform bill--how good can it be?

In other words, how much will saving this 80 billion cost the rest of us?

:shrug:
rocktivity

[sandnsea]

3. It's just sad

I went to the phrma web site to see if anything was being left out. Nope. I actually think it sucks worse than what's being reported. They'll reduce the price of brand name drugs 50% while Medicare recipients are in the donut hole. That's their big contribution. Which you know they've calulated as a huge write-off and justification to raise prices to everybody else.

Billy Tauzin helped push through Medicare Part D and is now head of phrma. Cute.

[BigJimbo]

30. Bogus Drug Deal

If the drug companies give up $8 billion per year in revenue
they have to make up their earnings somewhere else. Either 
they get a big tax write off and its us taxpayers who are
actually footing the bill for health care reform Or they raise
the price for those not on Medicare and they will then pay
more or  insurance premiums for those with drug coverage will
increase. Either way there will be no savings to make health
care reform affordable just a hidden transfer of costs 

[UrbScotty]

2. It's a good start.

Emphasizing both good and start.

[timeforpeace]

4. $80 billion over a decade means $8 billion a year, and the mechanism

isn't elucidated. Will likely amount to pretty small potatoes but will be the drug companies' contribution to the whole thing. Dues paid in full, they'll say.

[xchrom]

5. 'capping secretive negotiations involving key lawmakers and the White House.' nt

[BumRushDaShow]

8. The irony is

that it really wasn't so "secretive" when the fact that something having to do with negotiations, was deemed to start happening at the beginning of the month after that big meeting they had!

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gap9wCaolRYguYQesA2i2Yr98yLgD98I56OG0

[Trajan]

6. Interesting fact: Wyden and Merkley already running 'Health Care' success ads in Oregon

Paid for by BIG PHARMA ....

I kid you not: some serious self congratulatory 'Look what WE did !' political advertisements in a non-election year ...

The ads plainly stated they were bought and paid for by the Pharmacological Manufacturers Association of America, or some similarly worded title ...

I have heard other Democratic senators are also getting the same treatment ...

WTF is going on here ?

[sandnsea]

19. HCAN is encouraging calls to Wyden

I don't think this ad is strong enough, but maybe they're trying to dupe people into thinking it's all over so they don't pay attention to ads like these:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzXhPtbk9eo

[BumRushDaShow]

7. Makes me wonder if this fits

Michael Steele's definition of "just do(ing) the deal"?!! :rofl:

On a serious note, there should be NO "donut hole" in any prescription plan. That's just idiotic.

[Blandocyte]

9. Sure, court big pharma

so much for reform.

[Iowa]

10. Pathetic.

I don't know what's more pathetic... this bootlicking, groveling "agreement" with big pharma, or Obama's claim that this is "...a turning point in America's journey toward health care reform." It's like living through another 4 years of the Bush administration.

[bluesmail]

11. $80 billion. That's like the change I found on the floor of my car. eom

[pattmarty]

12. If Obama's healthcare reform passes this year, I can't wait to see..............

............what this POS will look like. The more I'm hearing (and seeing) the more I believe the final bill is gonna stink. I feel at this point if you aren't going to make it "better", then fuck it and just not do it. To my way of thinking, this ain't change, this is the "same old shit".

[shadowknows69]

14. for some of us it could end up being worse than "the same old shit"

[pattmarty]

15. That's what I'm afraid of.

[shadowknows69]

13. Well considering that most of my drugs took a serious jump in price in the last year

Whatever deal they worked out I'm sure won't bruise the profits they made in the gouging time too badly.

[MannyGoldstein]

16. A Staggering Load of Crap

Save $8 Billion a year compared to what? Some imaginary number of what it would have been if we hadn't saved the $8 Billion?

How fucking stupid are we?

[bkkyosemite]

17. I have been busy watching and on Twitter about Iran but saw this article on Yahoo front page and I

am pissed to say the least. I cannot get my drugs from Medicare. They do not cover them. And I could not afford to use that system as I would fall under paying 100%. Even at 50% it is outrageous. These drugs are expensive!

Obama says he thinks it will help the Seniors OMG! That damn Baucus he really makes me angry and I am calling on Monday. That little creep behind closed doors with his bribing buddies making secret deals.

We need to take to the streets and demand Single Payer now or we are screwed.

[karynnj]

18. Given the numbers in this letter from 3 Finanace Committee Senators calling for closing the donut

hole, this still leaves huge drug costs for those that fall here. http://kerry.senate.gov/cfm/record.cfm?id=314521

Unfortunately, this will likely be used as an argument not to close or even shrink that hole. As Senator Kerry says,

"“The doughnut hole invited disaster from the day the Republicans conceived it and to this day it continues to create pain for our seniors,” said Sen. Kerry. “Now is our chance to close the gap. If we don’t, the most well-intentioned health reform will leave them with worse drug coverage than anyone in the system.”

[earcandle]

20. Everyone just back out of your insurance plan and don't support the wankers anymore.

That is, if you are healthy.

Does Obama really think negotiating secretly behind closed
doors is democratic?  
Making deals with the drug industry is going to classify as
reform?

PUUUUHHHHHLLLLLLEEEAAAASSSSEEEEEE>..

look at what Baxter just did!   This Iranian thing is probably
a cover up for the pandemic we are about to experience because
of the Baxter vaccine that will give the deadly flu to
everyone that takes it, and be communicable, not like swine,
but a combination of both bird and swine cooked up in their
labs and sent out live.

This is genocide. All around genocide.  

I hope the fuck I am wrong.  

[Mojorabbit]

23. Thoug there was some funny business

going on with baxter. The virus they mishandled was H5N1. The beginning pandemic we are in involves the virus H1N1.

[MilesColtrane]

21. What are they getting out of the deal?

These companies don't do things out of the kindness of their hearts.

You would think that Obama, being a student of history, would recognize that secret planning on national health care policy only leads to an erosion of public support for the end product.

Doesn't he remember the field day the critics had when Hillary tried to tackle the problem behind closed doors, and the resulting failure of a public option?

[Hulk]

22. The "bottom line"....

I honestly don't care nor understand what this has to do with the overall picture. Single payer health care for all. You want to carry extra insurance to defray MORE of the costs, or provide other than necessary treatments...then spend your money.

If we DON'T get single payer health care, I'm going to be on disappointed fan, and I would think it's time to start looking for a "progressive party" that really looks out for the interests of the people. Maybe it's time to take our vote and go walking. Figure the repug party is withering away and turning into a circus act of lunatics. Maybe Maher has it right....we have a "right of the middle party", and it's call the democratic party...but I'll hold my tongue until I see what comes out of the wash.

I still trust President Obama to deliver. Let's see what happens.

[pattmarty]

26. I agree with everything you said EXCEPT the last line...............

................I hope you're right, but I now believe that whatever comes he is a "centrist" no matter what and that will be the political death of him. His MAIN promise in the campaign was healthcare and if he doesn't come thru or it remains the same or even worse, he will lose seats in 2010 and will lose the Presidency in 2012. Like Bill Maher said; he needs to be more like Bush in pushing his proposals and so far he's been wishy-washy.

[Vidar]

24. At this rate we'll have affordable health care by the next millenium.

[SOS]

25. Lipitor plummets from $90 a month to $85 a month

It's a reform juggernaut.

[midnight armadillo]

27. If there's no LAW backing up the "deal"...

...then the "deal" AIN'T WORTH SHIT.

Or has no Washington politician learned a damn thing about dealing with the healthcare industry?

[hayu_lol]

28. This is just a prop to try and make the...

unworkable PART D work. It won't do a thing for anyone.

Part D was bad from the start and should be eliminated. Under single-payer, it would be eliminated.

[Vinca]

29. Drug prices have skyrocketed ever since Medicare D was enacted

and I fully expect they'll double again so big pharma can still rake in their full haul off ailing seniors. It's a sick game.