Last month President George W. Bush singled out a fellow American for his thanks in front of a crowd of 6,500. He didn’t thank him for his service to
the country’s war on terrorism, or for some sort of important scientific discovery, or for being a great teacher and example for young people. No, the occasion was a GOP fundraiser, and President George W. Bush thanked Robert A. Ingram, president of pharmaceutical operations at GlaxoSmithKline, for his fundraising prowess. Ingram was chairman of the dinner that brought in more than $30 million for the National Republican Congressional Committee, according to the National Journal.
GlaxoSmithKline markets a drug called Lanoxin, widely used by the nation’s seniors to treat congestive heart failure. The price of Lanoxin has risen by 58.1 percent since 1997, according to a report by Families USA—nearly five times the rate of inflation. GlaxoSmithKline, along with the rest of the pharmaceutical drug industry, fiercely opposes Congressional proposals to add comprehensive prescription drug coverage to the Medicare program. Seniors need prescription drugs more than any other age group in the population, yet they are the most unlikely of all insured groups to have prescription drug coverage. They are stuck paying for these needed drugs out of their own pockets – that is, if they are fortunate enough to have the cash to cover the cost.
It is helpful to follow the money right now, as the Senate debates the affordability – or, rather, the lack of it – of prescription drugs for the nation’s seniors. Already, the pharmaceutical manufacturing industry has contributed $11.3 million to federal candidates and parties toward this year ’s mid-term elections, three-fourths of that to the GOP, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. In the 2000 election cycle, the industry gave $19.3 million, 77 percent to Republicans, of which the Bush-Cheney campaign’s direct share was $289,500. The pharmaceutical and health products industry also threw in $950,000 for the Bush-Cheney Inaugural Fund.
The picture is not encouraging. The Bush Administration has already announced it will not implement a provision passed by the Senate during debate last week, by a 69 to 30 vote, that would allow U.S. pharmacies and wholesalers to re-import prescription drugs from Canada, where costs are lower. Interestingly, the sponsor of that amendment, Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-ND), has gotten just $11,000 from pharmaceutical manufacturers over the years, while the 30 Senators who voted against the amendment have collected an average of $88,430.
Then, yesterday, a plan by Senate Democrats, fiercely opposed by the pharmaceutical industry, was defeated by a vote of 52 to 47 (60 votes were needed for the legislation to move forward). The bill would have created a new government prescription drug benefit for Medicare beneficiaries, at the cost of $594 billion over several years. The Senate also narrowly defeated a GOP plan, supported by the drug industry and the White House, which would give private industry the responsibility to administer a plan estimated at $370 billion. Though there is talk of compromise, stalemate is also a distinct possibility.
With corporate scandals continuing to surface daily, and drug prices increasing rapidly, America’s seniors may question if corporate America is where responsibility should lie. They might also ask why it is that their president singles out pharmaceutical CEOs for his personal thanks, while they see their own pocketbooks dwindle from paying for the prescriptions drugs they need.
Does this upset you? Go to HowDareThere.org send your senators and the president a personal message.
