The American Spectator : The Spectacle Blog : Big Pharma and Obamacare

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Big Pharma and Obamacare

By Lucia Rafanelli on 8.4.11 @ 11:26AM

When it comes to lobbying power, Big Oil has nothing on the drug industry.

In fact, as Tim Carney writes in The Washington Examiner, since the start of Obama's presidency, "the drug industry's $635 million lobbying tab exceeds that of Wall Street and the oil and gas industry, combined." Carney also reports that Big Pharma spent more than any other industry on lobbying in the period from 1998-2011, with expenditures totaling $2.2 billion.

Not only that, but in every year from 1999-2011, the health/pharmaceuticals sector was the top lobbying sector in the US, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.

So maybe we shouldn't have been too surprised when the Obama administration announced that all health insurance providers would soon be required to provide first dollar coverage for birth control (including so-called "abortion pills") under the guise of "preventive care." After all, this is essentially a huge subsidy for birth control manufacturers: As of August 2012, all insurance plans must cover their products and virtually all citizens must buy those insurance plans.

Planned Parenthood-- which, interestingly enough, was invited to contribute to deliberations about whether birth control should be defined as a preventive service, and thus be mandated by Obamacare-- also stands to benefit from this subsidy. According to Carney, Planned Parenthood has partnered with drug companies for profit in the past, including the makers of the "Plan B pill," which is covered under the HHS's new regulations.

View all comments (2) | Leave a comment

Have you considered| 8.4.11 @ 2:52PM

And won't Big Pharma be upset when Social Security and Obamacare put their purchasing power to good use, and negotiate drug prices, something that PartD (if I recall) was specifically forbidden to do.

I understand they are furiously lobbying against this, but it's gonna happen. Comeuppance is such a drag.

Red| 8.7.11 @ 4:20PM

Uh, huh.

Planned Parenthood, in case your forget, is in part responsible for providing numerous services in regards to sex education, including STD's, STI's and helping to prevent teen pregnancy that is based on EVIDENCE. It is part because of them that we have avoided widespread epidemics of such conditions.

Question; why is it okay for insurance to cover male enhancement drugs like Viagra, but completely wrong to cover birth control, even though pregnancy can be the most fragile time of a woman's life? How easily we forget the dangers a pregnant women is exposed to in regards to her health and all the things that can happen while pregnant and especially while giving birth.