The Game: Anatomy of the White House - PhRMA Deal

[petie32]

Yes we want health care reform. We want tort reform. We want repeal of the monopoly laws for pharma. We want reimportation. We want across state boundaries. We want competition. We especially do not want the current abortion of a healthcare bill from deep in the heart of Chicago (Vote for it so we can find out what's in it). Gagghhhhhhhh.

[thinkingfree101]

Govt. created the problems....... Govt can never fix the problems nor do they want to.... wake up....

[ZacksEnder]

Pharma created the problem by pushing the Medicare Act through congress by paying them off. Its the fault of big business, not the government. The government regulates the sales of drugs in all other developed nations and most of them rank much higher than us when it comes to health care. The government is not to be feared-- big business is to be feared.

[thinkingfree101]

@ZacksEnder you just mad my point...who did big pharma pay off?.... who make's law's? stop giveing those pig's excuses... they break their own law's daily.... Constitution Any1?

[CPOSharkey01]

This sort of stuff just cracks me up. Obama says one thing then crawls in bed with Pharmaceutic lobbyist. The next thing that happens is millions is pumped into Liberal PACS by the Pharma industry. You know I've always said that simple solutions are the very best. I think the US government should track global pharma prices then a write a law that simply states that Pharma companies will be fined an amount equal to the amount overcharges to US citizens. Then pharma sets the global price.

[VinceP1974]

It's my understanding that a major rationale behind prohibiting the Govt from "negotiating" prices was that it wouldn't be a negotiation at all.. instead it would be de facto Govt Price Fixing, which would lead to market distortion.

The solution to all of this is to get the Federal Govt out of the business of paying for people's medication

Medicare D was a huge mistake. "Obamacare" is merely an amplification of it.

[VinceP1974]

Just to be clear, My first sentence was referring to the policy regarding Medicare D.. not the deal Obama made.

[ZacksEnder]

Yes, the government would "fix" drug prices. Just like the governments of almost all other developed and industrial nations. Most of those nations rank far higher than us when it comes to health care. If they have a better system, why don't we implement it?

[13Chris714]

killuminati

[TexasToast09]

barrack obama has personal lobbyists for the white house! duhhhhhhh! you idiots!

[sagia2]

i just lost the game

[LOPpo90]

hahahaha

[CosmosPrivateer]

What I want to know is the Gold in Fort Knox gold plated tungsten?

[adamitshelanu]

Lobbyists, tax-cheats and marxist academics are all snuggled up in the ObamaNation "administration."

How's that hopey changey thang working out for you?

[rayzortek]

hows that hope and change workin 4u

[OrlandoTeaPartyVideo]

So does anyone thing big government pharma is going to be an improvement? This is what comes after big government healthcare is passed.

[InglouriousGamer2009]

Fake and super GAY

[cincinnatuschili]

The parties vested in the current "game" are the same parties telling us that supporting third party candidates is a waste of our votes. I smell a rat.

[johnnycoonass]

soryy....nit-pickin' here......this was botherin' me as a cajun.........billy TAUZIN is one of ours.........pronounced "TOE-zan".

that is all.

[WunderMaus]

The Corporate Corruption of our political system is Systemic and Malignant. "Governments are instituted among People, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness."

[oldtownkid]

I don't think that "real reform" is even a realistic goal, it is impossible to change our healthcare system when there are so many powerful groups that benefit from our current system. It's not gonna happen, forget it. What's probably possible could be to help people a little bit by putting a cap on out of pocket expenses, eliminating pre-existng conditions, and reducing the amount of ER unpaid hospital bills by insuring more people, but this clean, honorable, honest reform that we would like?no

[oldtownkid]

The dilema... all previous attempts at reforming the healthcare system have found dedicated enemies in the AMA, Phrma,AARP, and the insurance industry,among others, making it impossible for any changes to take place. On this latest attempt the president makes a deal with Phrma so that they don't kill reform and the disappointment generated by that deal may actually contribute to the failure of healthcare reform.

[thomasonfa]

Our system is broken. We are getting a clear picture of that now in our entire system, from Congress, Supreme Courts, and the White House. I wonder will the game ever change - I doubt it.

[oldtownkid]

our system is perfect ,politicians are super people

[DillonX]

Corporations have way too much power in Government now, and a recent US Supreme Court Decision INSURED THEY'LL HAVE TOTAL CONTROL!

[ChimpBama]

I guess we missed the Owe Bama / Pharma negotiations on C Span

Transparency?

[Joe402]

So you are agreeing that corporatism is a bad thing? Because that is the correct opinion to have.

[mentor972]

Somehow I spotted this, and don't ask me how, but immediately I knew that that short manufacturing clip was actually a clip of Sesame Street from the 80's. It was a segment on making crayons.

[Lucem2]

Obama was naive by making a pact with the 'devil'.

As expected it didn't work.

[iwonderwhoitis22]

shoulda got a professional voiceover for your commercial, not this marblemouth

[tmo9d]

Can it.

Noah Kunin did the voice over, and he's probably one of the only journalists we have left. Back off, Kunin's the only one I see actually doing real, non-partisan digging in this country.

[thomasonfa]

What about the content of the video, do you have any input?

[suzzellep]

Just don't buy into the drug game..excercise and eat right. Cut out junk food which is leading to the sickness plague. Stop drinking soda pop..it's like putting poison directly in your body. I'm all for Michelle Obama's thing to stop childhood obesity...THAT'S what this country needs more than anything..Look in your own fridge and be that change. Quit letting coca-cola and the drug cos run your life.

[uncoverbrother]

@suzzellep amen! i just saw a pepsi ad claiming itself to be a big charitable giver.  i'm thinking pepsi takes away more than it ends up giving with all it's sugary drinks.

[wildpeachatl737]

I agree, as many of the prescriptions people are taking aren't designed to cure anything, but the treat the symptoms and often cause other illnesses in the process. The food industry is also complicit, but the drug companies can't make the profits if you don't take the drugs.

Still doesn't absolve Obama from this and this is one of the reasons he's getting the backlash from Democrats/Progressives/Liberal­s. he clearly lied and sold us out when he said he wouldn't...

[classicallady]

@wildpeach The simpletowns in this country fail miserably to realize the reason meds here are outrageous compaared to other industrialized countries is because of the propagand machine they run. I've read for everydrug they come up with it will cost them close to 4 billion dollars (each) placing adds on the media and other venues They make sure to actually make the patient tell the doc what is best for them.And evidently the medics get a big cut prescribing them

[wildpeachatl737]

Oh, it's all definitely a hustle and people are so trusting of their doctors who write these prescriptions that they don't ask what it is, why they need it and if there are alternative medicines that would be the same.

These doctors have to pay off those student loans and keep up their malpractice insurance, they're going to get in on the deal as well.

[jsh78mang]

Are you so deluded that you think he did anything but get support for what he wanted while saving them 220 billion. Even when it is right in front of your nose you can't see it. You people wonder why they call you Brown shirts fanatics obamabots. Here is your answer. and dear ass hole this entire country runs on tax payer expense. STUPID

[jpmorgan187]

the whole lot of them, they're all bought... greed rules this country , not politicians.

[classicallady]

@jpmorgan...exactly. This country was built on greed and lawyers.Time to bring in the guillotine and decapitate the new "Royals" of America

[themarycity]

What a disaster...

[zacky89]

No, you should not feel that bad. I think the President brought big Pharma to its knees. No body had ever succeeded before Obama. His administration at least tried to extract 80 billions from Pharma. He did not try to give away any thing for free like the old administration's defense contracts or medicare contracts to insurance companies, etc at tax payer expense.

[SunlightFoundation]

That's not entirely accurate. If Medicare pays for drugs at a higher rate due to a law containing (or not containing) particular provision, that's at taxpayer expense as well.