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>From Nancy Allen of Maine on the National Committee Affairs List. <br>
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<td>[usgp-dx] The Healthcare War Is Now Official (Robert Reich)</td>
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<td>Mon, 15 Jun 2009 13:15:01 -0400</td>
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<td>Nancy Allen <a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:nallen11@myfairpoint.net"><nallen11@myfairpoint.net></a></td>
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<th align="right" nowrap="nowrap" valign="baseline">Reply-To: </th>
<td>Nancy Allen <a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:nallen11@myfairpoint.net"><nallen11@myfairpoint.net></a>, "The
natlcomaffairs \(aka USGP-DX\) listserv is used to discuss issues
related to coordinated national actions and current issues."
<a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:natlcomaffairs@green.gpus.org"><natlcomaffairs@green.gpus.org></a></td>
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<th align="right" nowrap="nowrap" valign="baseline">To: </th>
<td><a class="moz-txt-link-rfc2396E" href="mailto:natlcomaffairs@green.gpus.org"><natlcomaffairs@green.gpus.org></a></td>
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<pre>This lists the lobbying costs since the beginning of the year.
We could afford a lot of health care insurance for everyone if it is all
added up !!!
Nancy Allen
Maine
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.truthout.org/061409A">http://www.truthout.org/061409A</a>
The Healthcare War Is Now Official
Thursday 11 June 2009
by: Robert Reich | Visit article original @ Robert Reich's Blog
Yesterday the American Medical Association came out against a public
option for health care. And yesterday the President reaffirmed his support
for it. The next weeks will show what Obama is made of - whether he's
willing and able to take on the most formidable lobbying coalition he has
faced so far on an issue that will define his presidency.
And make no mistake: A public option large enough to have bargaining
leverage to drive down drug prices and private-insurance premiums is the
defining issue of universal health care. It's the only way to make health
care affordable. It's the only way to prevent Medicare and Medicaid from
eating up future federal budgets. An ersatz public option - whether Kent
Conrad's non-profit cooperatives, Olympia Snowe's "trigger," or regulated
state-run plans - won't do squat.
The last president to successfully take on the giant health care lobbies
was LBJ. He got Medicare and Medicaid enacted because he weighed into the
details, twisted congressional arms, threatened and cajoled, drew lines in
the sand, and went to war against the AMA and the other giant lobbyists
standing in the way. The question now is how much LBJ is in Barack Obama.
The big guns are out and they're firing. All major lobbying firms in
Washington - many of them brimming with ex-members of Congress - are now
crawling all over the Hill. Lots of money is on the table. AMA's political
action committee has contributed $9.8 million to congressional candidates
since 2000, and its lobbying arm is one of the most formidable on the Hill.
Meanwhile, Big Insurance and Big Pharma are increasing their firepower. The
five largest private insurers and their trade group America's Health
Insurance Plans spent a total of $6.4 million on lobbying in the first
quarter of this year, up more than $1 million from the first quarter last
year, and are spending even more now. United Health Group spent $1.5 million
in the first quarter, up 34 percent from the $1.1 million it spent in the
first quarter last year. Aetna spent $809,793 between January and the end of
March, up 41 percent from last year. Pfizer, the world's biggest drugmaker,
spent more than $6.1 million on lobbying between January and March, more
than double what it spent last year. It also spent nearly $3.3 million
lobbying in the fourth quarter of 2008. Every one of them is upping their
spending.
Some congressional Democrats are willing and able to stand up to this
barrage. Many are not. They need cover from the White House.
The President can't do this alone. You must weigh in and get everyone
you know to weigh in, too. Bombard your senators and representatives.
Organize and mobilize others. And let the White House know how strongly you
feel. This is one of those battles that define a presidency. But more
importantly, it's one of those battles that define the state of American
democracy.
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<pre class="moz-signature" cols="80">--
"Anytime you have an opportunity to make things better and you don't, then you are wasting your time on this Earth" Roberto Clemente
Wes Rolley
17211 Quail Court, Morgan Hill, CA 95037
<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="http://www.refpub.com/">http://www.refpub.com/</a> -- Tel: 408.778.3024</pre>
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