Poor Nations Pick Up Tab as Obama Woos Big Pharma

New rules aim to increase transparency

(NEWSER) - Studies have found that when doctors accept payments from drug companies, it can influence their treatment decisions—so the Obama administration will soon require drug companies to disclose those payments. The New York Times reports that around 25% of doctors receive cash from drug companies for consulting, speaking engagements, and more; in addition, almost two-thirds accept staff lunches or dinners out. The new requirements, part of the new health care law, will ensure that such payments and gifts, even small ones, are disclosed on a website; drug companies will be subject to fines for any omissions. More»

9% rise, in a year of falling prices, will add $10B to drug spending

(NEWSER) - Bracing for health care reform, drug companies have been raising prices at the fastest rate in almost 20 years—even as they pledge to support Washington's goal of cutting the nation's drug bill. The pharmaceutical industry is scrambling to get the price base as high as possible before legislation to curb drug spending kicks in, critics tell the New York Times . More»

Obama must ignore lobbyists for insurers, doctors, drug makers

(NEWSER) - In dealing with pharmaceutical companies, insurers, and the AMA, President Obama should take a page from David Letterman's book and not fall prey to blackmail, writes former Labor Secretary Robert Reich. Promises the administration made to those three constituencies in exchange for staying neutral or positive about health care reform amount to “hush money,” writes Reich. "When they all get paid off, who will do the paying? Middle-class Americans who are already in a financial squeeze." More»

Drug companies get behind health care reform, to Congress' concern

(NEWSER) - Drug companies have authorized their lobbyists to spend up to $150 million on TV ads supporting Barack Obama's health care reform plan—a surprisingly large sum that suggests the industry still has a deal with the White House on capping pharma's costs, reports the New York Times. A few spots that have already aired echo Democratic talking points about consumer protection and universal coverage. The connections run deep—one of the agencies involved is David Axelrod's old firm. More»

(NEWSER) - Big Pharma has offered the feds a discount of up to $80 billion on drugs for programs like Medicare, the Washington Post reports. The pledge, which comes at a crucial moment in the health-reform debate, may be a pre-emptive strike before President Obama pushes for a proposed $100 billion price cut. “There was a great deal of sticker shock" when the White House floated that number, a drug company exec said. More»