How Much Money And For Whom?

How Much Money And For Whom?

I’m sure you as I have always heard how much the Pharmaceutical companies are making. We all gripe and complain that our medications are too expensive and we can’t really afford the high cost of healthcare. We all agree that we have a broken healthcare system and a band aid is not going to heal it.If you look at the World Charts and the news breaking reports, it’s clear that our great country is no longer the leader in healthcare. Our quality of care has fallen. However, the United States is still the leader in healthcare costs.

This morning I received one of my newsletters that goes out to doctors and healthcare professionals. Never before have I ever actually seen the numbers in black and white till today. I want to share this with you so you can see for yourself and come to your own conclusions as to how to respond.

 

It appears that healthcare organizations and physicians are major forces behind campaign contributions. According to the nonprofit Center
for Responsive Politics (CRP), the healthcare industry has spent over $147,136,594.00 for the 2012 political events. Now, those numbers were posted the first of September so we know it is probably more than that now. Also, the CRP mentions that not all money is posted.

The CRP is a non-profit, non-partisan research group based in Washington, D.C.. This company tracks the effects of money and lobbing on elections and public policy. Their data base can be found on www.opensecrets.org.

Below is the top 20 healthcare-sector contributors to Federal candidates, parties, and outside groups.

Rank	Organization	Amount
1	Adelson Drug Clinic	$22,040,800.00
2	Cooperative of American Physicians	$2,699,245.00
3	American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons	$1,467,800.00
4	American Dental Association	$1,343,649.00
5	P?zer,Inc. Pharmaceutical Company	$1,287,136.00
6	Select Medical Corp	$1,132,450.00
7	American College of Radiology	$1,127,134.00
8	American Society of Anesthesiologists	$1,109,150.00
9	American Health Care Association	$1,093,695.00
10	American College of Emergency Physicians	$1,060,500.00
11	American Hospital Association	$1,051,122.00
12	Amgen Inc	$1,017,312.00
13	McKesson Corp	$991,325.00
14	Abbott Laboratories	$878,980.00
15	Medco Health Solutions	$833,120.00
16	Stryker Corp	$819,464.00
17	American Physical Therapy Association	$816,600.00
18	AstraZeneca PLC	$795,075.00
19	American Medical Association	$785,437.00
20	Merck and Co	$763,935.00

 

The next table gives the percentage each company gave to each political party.

Rank	Organization	Democrats	Republicans
1	Adelson Drug Clinic
2	Cooperative of American Physicians	2%	2%
3	American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons	25%	75%
4	American Dental Association	40%	60%
5	P?zer,Inc. Pharmaceutical Company	52%	48%
6	Select Medical Corp	5%	7%
7	American College of Radiology	29%	71%
8	American Society of Anesthesiologists	37%	63%
9	American Health Care Association	44%	55%
10	American College of Emergency Physicians	41%	59%
11	American Hospital Association	58%	42%
12	Amgen Inc	51%	47%
13	McKesson Corp	40%	60%
14	Abbott Laboratories	39%	61%
15	Medco Health Solutions	47%	53%
16	Stryker Corp	7%	1%
17	American Physical Therapy Association	54%	46%
18	AstraZeneca PLC	44%	55%
19	American Medical Association	45%	55%
20	Merck and Co	51%	49%

 

I am thankful that we live in a country where there is Free Speech. That being said, I would like to say that in my opinion, a lot of that money could have been used to support people who are struggling with no money or insurance and need assistance in their health care. Instead, it appears that it went to the political parties and to lobbying efforts. Are most of this money spent to influence government, and for what reason? Why can’t the pharmaceutical companies and health care providers lower their cost for the true American, their customers? It is now obvious that there is a surplus that can be given away to the government. Yes, I’m sure there must be a tax break for them somewhere.

 

 

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