Do The lobbyists Own Health Care Reform?

Health Care reform appears to be headed for passage. The Senate and House must now come together to negotiate and combine their separate bills into one. At this moment, it appears that the Public Option is out. The same is true for reimporting drugs from places like Canada which would lower drug prices in America. The proposal to lower the age limit for those who could access Medicare is also out at this time.

Many people are saying that it is better to have a flawed bill instead of no bill at all. The argument goes that a flawed bill will be fixed just like Social Security was fixed over the years. Social Security was basically for orphans and widows and basically excluded African Americans in the beginning. The counterargument is that politicians said the same thing about No Child Left Behind which was very flawed when it passed. Many said that it would also be fixed and resources would be allocated with time. This has not happened and most politicians today see it as a disaster.

With all of the lobbyists working to defeat real Health Care reform and the money spent in the process, it is clear that this group has major influence over the government in America.

From start to finish, the insurance and drug industries -- and their army of lobbyists had control over the process that resulted in a bill that is reform in name only at this point. A study by Northwestern University's Medill News Service and the Center for Responsive Politics found that 13 former congressmen and 166 Congressional staffers were actively engaged in lobbying their former colleagues on the bill. The companies they were working for -- some 338 of them -- spent $635 million on lobbying.