What can I say? Obama likes his pharmaceuticals.
Obama made a deal he didn't have to. I think. His staff keeps flopping on that particular matter. It's about the only thing they sorta admit actually exists.
You see Obama pulled a cousin Cheney and held some backroom deals with PHARMA at the White House. He broke at least 2 campaign promises in the act. The one campaign promise he's kept: doing more than one thing at a time.
- He promised he would holdthe healthcare negotiations in public - on C-Span. LIE.
- He promised he would repeal the ban on Medicare negotiating drug prices. LIE. ($220 billion+ lie)
After DADT, GiTMO, Hiring lobbyists, Mortgage Modifications in Bankruptcy(conspicuous absence there)...
Obama says (we'll have to take him at his word) Pharma's gonna cut $80 billion over 10 years. If Medicare negotiated they could cut $300 billion.
Were these deals done in the Roosevelt Room or the Lincoln?
Is the $80 billion figure even legit? What is the basis for such a claim? I guess we could ask the white and rabid, Billy Tauzin. He won't lie. Or Obama? He wouldn't lie.
Regardless, Pharma stands to already gain from the millions of newly insured customers.
POISON PILL
I wonder what the cost of the plan would look like if full negotiations were allowed for the plan and for Medicare? What would the CBO say about it? By agreeing to this deal, doesn't he also make it more costly and harder to swallow? Perhaps, the years of smoking have toughened his esophogus, or just curtailed his endurance. Perhaps, the long run for our president is a campaign run.
Exactly, who's donut hole got filled?
It isn't just the $220 billion. It's that Obama sold out. He flipped for Pharma. He and/or his staff got in front of microphones and lied. He's compromised beyond all recognition.