Group Criticizes "60 Minutes" Report On Drug Lobby
Sunday's "60 Minutes" report on the Medicare prescription drug bill and the lobbying and politics associated with it, which you can watch by clicking on the video box, has come in for criticism from a conservative group called The National Center For Public Policy Research.
In a press release, the Center criticizes "60 Minutes" for relying on a report (PDF) from the group Families USA. It claims the report falsely exaggerated Medicare drug prices because its data come from two relatively affluent counties.
"60 Minutes" producer Ira Rosen, who produced the segment, told me he stands by the story, saying that "Families USA data is represented nationally." I also spoke to Families USA Executive Director Ron Pollack. Pollack told me that "the major plans that are providing prescription drug coverage are national plans. And the price data are similar from one area to another. If we literally did every county, we'd never get a report out. So what we've done is taken areas that we thought are representative – and checked to make sure that was true."
"Whenever we issue information like this, we know very well that this is going to be examined carefully," he added. "The drug lobby – PhRMA – has not criticized our data at all." PhRMA has criticized Family USA's decision to use the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs as a point of comparison, however, arguing that the VA system is fill of deficiencies. "60 Minutes" made the same comparison.
The Center also complained that "60 Minutes" identified Families USA as a non-partisan group, calling it "a left-wing organization with an agenda of increasing government involvement in health care."
"We are non-partisan – I want to be clear about that," said Pollack. "We have never supported or opposed any political candidate for any office, ever. I don't know how I could be more resolute about this. And indeed, our tax exempt status requires us to be." Pollack said that the vast majority of the group's finding comes from non-partisan foundations, though it has received a "tiny proportion of funding" from George Soros.
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Video: In a press release, the Center criticizes "60 Minutes" for relying on a report (PDF) from the group Families USA. It claims the report falsely exaggerated Medicare drug prices because its data come from two relatively affluent counties.
"60 Minutes" producer Ira Rosen, who produced the segment, told me he stands by the story, saying that "Families USA data is represented nationally." I also spoke to Families USA Executive Director Ron Pollack. Pollack told me that "the major plans that are providing prescription drug coverage are national plans. And the price data are similar from one area to another. If we literally did every county, we'd never get a report out. So what we've done is taken areas that we thought are representative – and checked to make sure that was true."
"Whenever we issue information like this, we know very well that this is going to be examined carefully," he added. "The drug lobby – PhRMA – has not criticized our data at all." PhRMA has criticized Family USA's decision to use the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs as a point of comparison, however, arguing that the VA system is fill of deficiencies. "60 Minutes" made the same comparison.
The Center also complained that "60 Minutes" identified Families USA as a non-partisan group, calling it "a left-wing organization with an agenda of increasing government involvement in health care."
"We are non-partisan – I want to be clear about that," said Pollack. "We have never supported or opposed any political candidate for any office, ever. I don't know how I could be more resolute about this. And indeed, our tax exempt status requires us to be." Pollack said that the vast majority of the group's finding comes from non-partisan foundations, though it has received a "tiny proportion of funding" from George Soros.
Someone needs to clean house at CBS News. Only fools would believe a story put out by these hacks. Advertisers must not pay very much to reach the veiwers of this nonsense.
I call on the Management at CBS Corporation to issue an apology for this story and run a retraction. Then I call for the discharge all CBS News employees, and the cancellation of all the CBS News shows, the death penalty as it were. In a year or so when you have reconstituted the divsion you set to work righting all the wrongs you committed.
Families USA is a Left wing group pushing more government in Health care , makes not one whit of difference that they dont push a candidate. The things they push are far more dangerous than candidates, its their ideas that are dangerous.
But we are lucky in that the media is mostly functionally illiterate when it comes to statistics. They really need to hire some folks from outside the Columbia School of Journalism, and get some scientifically literate types and then teach them how to write a cogent sentence...might be easier and garner them more credibility.