Under The Influence
60 Minutes' Steve Kroft Reports On Drug Lobbyists' Role in Passing Bill That Keeps Drug Prices High
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Under The Influence
Steve Kroft reports on how the pharmaceutical industry lobby influenced Congress to pass the Medicare prescription drug law, a night on the Hill one representative calls the "ugliest" he's ever seen.
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Kroft's Reporter's Notebook
Only On The Web: Steve Kroft discusses his "60 Minutes" segment on the Medicare prescription drug bill and how the pharmaceutical lobby works in Washington.
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Rep. Walter Jones (R-N.C.), left, and Rep. Dan Burton (R-Ind.) offer a rare glimpse behind the scenes of Congress. Jones calls the lobbyist-induced frenzy to pass the Medicare prescription drug bill in the U.S. House of Representatives two years ago the "ugliest night" he has ever seen in politics. (CBS)
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"He was negotiating for his job at the same time that the Medicare legislation was being considered. He wound up taking this job 10 days after the president signed this legislation," says Pollack.
It is but one example of the incestuous relationship between Congress and the industry, and just one of the reasons the pharmaceutical lobby almost never loses a political battle that affects its bottom line.
Former Congressman Billy Tauzin, who helped push the prescription drug bill through the House, didn't disagree.
Has the bill been good for the drug industry?
"It's been good for the patients whom the drug industry represents …" Tauzin says. "In terms of profits — [for the drug companies] and volumes, yes."
Says Kroft: "Your old friend, John Dingell, says that of the 1,500 bills over the last eight years dealing with pharmaceutical issues, the drug companies almost, without exception, have gotten what they wanted."
"Yeah … I would think he's correct. They've done fairly well," replies Tauzin.
Why has this lobby been so successful? The former congressman says he believes it's because they stood for the right things.
If Tauzin sounds a lot like a lobbyist for the drug industry, that's because now he is.
Just a few months after the prescription drug bill passed, Tauzin began discussions with the pharmaceutical industry to become its chief lobbyist in Washington. He says it was one of several lucrative offers he's received just before he got some very bad news.
"I got a call from a doctor in Bethesda who said, 'You got cancer. And it's extremely rare. And it could kill ya.' And then everything changed," Tauzin says.
Tauzin had a cancerous tumor removed from his intestines and was treated with a new medicine, called Avastin, that had never been used before on that form of cancer.
The treatment was successful, and as a result Tauzin says he felt he owed his life to the drug industry. After serving out his congressional term, he accepted a $2 million-a-year job as president of PhRMA — Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America.
"There was an extraordinary moment when my wife literally looked me in the eye and said, 'Look, you're gonna do well wherever you go, Billy … You got a lot a great offers … And maybe you oughta think about working for the people that struggle everyday to try to invent the medicines that save lives like yours.'
"And that was a pretty important moment in my life," Tauzin says. "And it was the moment I decided that this was the work I wanted to do — headaches and all."
© MMVII, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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See all 137 CommentsBUT until I see or hear an apology from Katie Couric (or preferably a resignation) regarding her non-professional, biased, neoconservative approach to her interview of the Edwards, no morfe 60 Minutes for me.
It is simply journalistically unforgivable to lead off questions with "people say." Thos of us who know her know that she was simply activing as a shill for Rush Limbaugh and Bill O'Reilly and "journalists" of their ilk--of which she is clearly just one more.
What she did not do was to admit publicly that she continued to work, making millions a year, while her husband was dying of cancer. What she did not do was cite the positive examples of people like Lance Armstrong. What she did not do was to give John Edwards the chance to talk about a single issue beyond defending himself against charges of negligence of his wife and children. (Will she show the same concern for the first (and second and third) wife of such candidates as Newt Gingerich, Rudy Guliani, John McCain?
Of course, she should have asked the hard questions: How did you and your wife make the decision to continue your campaign when the recurrence of cancer became known? How do you respond to Rush Limbaugh who says, "...."? What will you tell potential supporters and financial backers who ask how you will react if (God forbid!) your wife's cancer worsens during your campaign or during your presidency (if you were to be elected)?
Each of these questions could have been asked once--and thoughtfully. Instead what we got was a harangue. The same questions over and over again, in a cold, snippy tone, with the underlying assumption that Mrs. Edwards is dying--now.
If only she had ever, once shown the same insistent tone in questioning members of the Bush regime, esp. the VP . . . . But no, never!
So, so long 60 Minutes. You fallen to a journalistic low. Henceforth, I will go elsewhere for unbiased coverage--or, at least, for coverage that labels its own bias.
Neoconservatism is NOT news. It's opinion. Some people say it's even neo-fascism. Some people . . . . Hmmm, wonder who they might have been.
(Google it!)
In Money We Trust!
Taking a program that has givem 95% of seniors drug coverage with which they are highly satisfied and make it sound like some sort of criminal conspiracy is a a moral and journalistic outrage.
The Dems are so mad the Republicans passed Part D because the Democrats wanted to pass it!
The benefit would never have been passed with price controls, so seniors have gotten years of benefit thanks to the Republicans. In fact the program is UNDER budget, a hugely significant fact you witheld from the public. The VA program you so laud lost droves of Veterans to Part D because it doesn't cover many drugs they need.
If you so deplore the industry, stop taking their commercial dollars. If yu don't, you will reveal yourselves to the world as the miserable, despicable hypocrites you are.
The 60 Minutes producers need to learn the real industry structure, especially how drug formularies work and ask the right questions of the policy makers and the Bush administration and put together a real expose!!!!!
This is revealing. How can a con defend not allowing Medicare to negotiate prices with the drug industry? I'd love to hear the answer.
What is most worrisome in regards to tonights report is knowing Democrats such as Hillary Clinton, is accepting the same corrupt Pharma money that corrupted Bush and the Republicans leading to this fleecing of America. It's little wonder no one is talking about campaign finance reform.
No wonder Republicans are so incredibly anti-environment, they are profiting from all the sickness resulting from our polluted air, water, and land. In the end all will be punished!
America we need to find a more independent media or we're all going to lose our democracy.
It's shameful the way those congressmen/women pushed to keep full drug prices in the prescription drug plan. How they sleep at night, I'll never know.
Saul Eisenstat, MD
LOBBYING IS ILLEGAL.. How many congresspeople would vote for this? I'd say ZERO.. so let's vote them ALL out next election and instead vote in people that no one has ever heard of.. you know, REAL working people; NOT career politicians. Limit terms for House members to TWO maximum... PERIOD. These career politicians make me SICK... ALL of them.
THIS IS A FORM OF PRICE FIXING
WE WOULD BE ARRESTED FOR DOING SOMETHING LIKE THE
SOMETHING SHOULD BE DONE, OR
Bush claims that he is for fair trade, but not when it comes to the pharmaceutical companies. In that case, he's for rape.
I HOPE EVERY AMERICAN DOES EXECTLY WHAT I STATED HERE, GET THE WORD OUT
America we need to find a more independent media or we're all going to lose our democracy.
Posted by fairandbal at 10:34 PM : Apr 01, 2007
What good would it have done with the Fascist in control of the congress? It would have been treated like so many other very important issues while THEY debated how they could keep a Brian Dead Woman on Life Support. Let's face it people the PROBLEM started and stopped with the Republican Party and it's Southern Fascist Wing, plain and simple.
I HOPE EVERY AMERICAN DOES EXECTLY WHAT I STATED HERE, GET THE WORD OUT
Consumer choice and competition should determine drug prices - not the government.
Second, an overwhelming number of seniors like the benefit. Satisfaction rates are between 75 and 80 percent in all major surveys.
Third, in addition to reaching and improving the lives of the vast majority of its intended beneficiaries, the net Medicare cost of Part D has come in $189 Billion under the CMS Office of the Actuary's original estimates.
The fact that the Congressional Budget Office and the CMS Office of the Actuary differed in their estimates of the Bill was no secret. Three months before the House voted on the Medicare Modernization Act, David Rogers reported in the Wall Street Journal that "Republicans and the White House are convinced long-term savings will result, as private health plans compete and provide nongovernment alternatives for beneficiaries. But the Congressional Budget Office and Medicare actuaries at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) remain far apart in how they score the early impact of certain provisions." See "Varying Medicare-Cost Analyses Dog House-Senate Negotiators," Wall Street Journal, Sept. 30, 2003, p. B 10.
As a result of its passage, 39 million Medicare beneficiaries now have some form of drug coverage and better, healthier lives. But that's not
what was portrayed on your unbalanced and incomplete segment on this significant health care achievement.---Leslie V. Norwalk, Acting Administrator, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
I HOPE EVERY AMERICAN DOES EXECTLY WHAT I STATED HERE, GET THE WORD OUT.
THIS GOVERNMENT IS AND WILL NOT HELP THE AVERAGE AMERICAN SO EVERYONE BETTER WAKE UP AND TAKE CONTROL OF OUR GOVERNMENT NOW BEFORE ITS TO LATE.
IF YOU SIT BACK AND DO NOTHING, THAN DONT SAY A WORD, THIS IS TO GET OUR COUNTRY BACK.
THIS GOVERNMENT HAS LIED,CHE
I HOPE EVERY AMERICAN DOES EXECTLY WHAT I STATED HERE, GET THE WORD OUT.
THIS GOVERNMENT IS AND WILL NOT HELP THE AVERAGE AMERICAN SO EVERYONE BETTER WAKE UP AND TAKE CONTROL OF OUR GOVERNMENT NOW BEFORE ITS TO LATE.
IF YOU SIT BACK AND DO NOTHING, THAN DONT SAY A WORD, THIS IS TO GET OUR COUNTRY BACK.
THIS GOVERNMENT HAS LIED,CHEATTED YOU, AND WILL NOT FOLLOW THE LAWS OF THIS COUNTRY, SO WHY SHOULD WE..
SO GO AHEAD DO WHAT YOU WANT TO DO TREAT EVERYDAY LIKE THEY DO WITH NO RESPECT TO THE LAWS AND OUR CONSTITUTION OR BILL OF RIGHTS, SO GO AHEAD HAVE FUN LIKE THEY DO ALL IN WASHINGTON....FREE AMERICA GOT TO LOVE IT!!!!!!!!
I HOPE EVERY AMERICAN DOES EXECTLY WHAT I STATED HERE, GET THE WORD OUT.
THIS GOVERNMENT IS AND WILL NOT HELP THE AVERAGE AMERICAN SO EVERYONE BETTER WAKE UP AND TAKE CONTROL OF OUR GOVERNMENT NOW BEFORE ITS TO LATE.
IF YOU SIT BACK AND DO NOTHING, THAN DONT SAY A WORD, THIS IS TO GET OUR COUNTRY BACK.
THIS GOVERNMENT HAS LIED,CHE
I HOPE EVERY AMERICAN DOES EXECTLY WHAT I STATED HERE, GET THE WORD OUT.
THIS GOVERNMENT IS AND WILL NOT HELP THE AVERAGE AMERICAN SO EVERYONE BETTER WAKE UP AND TAKE CONTROL OF OUR GOVERNMENT NOW BEFORE ITS TO LATE.
IF YOU SIT BACK AND DO NOTHING, THAN DONT SAY A WORD, THIS IS TO GET OUR COUNTRY BACK.
THIS GOVERNMENT HAS LIED,CHEATTED YOU, AND WILL NOT FOLLOW THE LAWS OF THIS COUNTRY, SO WHY SHOULD WE..
SO GO AHEAD DO WHAT YOU WANT TO DO TREAT EVERYDAY LIKE THEY DO WITH NO RESPECT TO THE LAWS AND OUR CONSTITUTION OR BILL OF RIGHTS, SO GO AHEAD HAVE FUN LIKE THEY DO ALL IN WASHINGTON....FREE AMERICA GOT TO LOVE IT!!!!!!!!
To all the politicians who caved to the pharmaceutical lobbyists - "public service"? - who do you think you are hurting? You may be insulated from the disaster, but don't you have extended families? neighbors? friends? Have you no conscience?
You actually gain neither. On the one hand, all of you are to be commended identifying yourselves soooo well (though we probably could have smelled the stench of complicity anyway) on the other hand,the idea that industry, (or a political party or the government) would pose as independent thinkers when really they are paid hacks of an established group is despicable. We don't fall for it when Bush and Co. do it so we are not falling for it when an adjunct of B & C do it. Stick to bribing Congress, the PEOPLE despise you.
Our governments own top acountant has been touring the country warning Americans that the Medicare Prescription Drug Plan will soon bankrupt the country. It will singlehandedly add at least a trillion dollars to the national debt.
The plan was written by the drug companies for their benefit and makes it illegal for medicare, the single biggest purchaser of pharmacueticals, to use their buying power to negotiate reasonable prices. Every other nation in the world negotiates drug prices for it's citizens. Why don't we? Because the GOP Congress sold out to lobbyists.
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