Carper Sells Out To Drug Companies
From a Booman Tribune post entitled, “For Shame, Tom Carper”, comes this gem (bold text added by me):
In any case, there are people who qualify for Medicaid because they have a low income. And there are people who qualify for Medicare because they are 65 years-old. Then there are people who qualify for both, and they are called ‘Dual Eligible Individuals.’ Prior to the adoption of the Medicare Part D prescription drug program, people on Medicaid were able to purchase drugs at a low cost because of bulk purchasing by the government. This is still true…except for the people on Medicaid who are also eligible for Medicare Part D. Those individuals, like everyone else in Part D, do not benefit from bulk purchasing and have to pay a higher rate. How much higher? Well, just reversing this change would save the government over $85 billion dollars. That’s almost enough money to fight for two more years in Iraq.
The Nelson-Rockefeller amendment eliminates this problem by restoring the previous situation where all members of Medicaid get Medicaid pricing on pharmaceuticals. It also phases out the infamous donut hole, where seniors are forced to pay 100% out of pocket costs on drugs between roughly $2700-$5000 despite having to pay premiums for coverage.
I hope that isn’t too complicated to understand. These changes would save the government over $85 billion dollars in subsidies and payouts to the drug companies. Seniors would no longer get hosed in the donut hole. And everyone else would get a break on paying for other people’s subsidies.
It makes a lot of sense unless you are a drug company, a Republican, or Democrat Tom Carper of Delaware. Sen. Carper is upset by this amendment because the Senate entered into a deal with PhRMA five years ago to give them this sweet multi-billion dollar giveaway. And despite the fact that it was the Bush administration and the Republicans who cut this farce of a deal (with basically no Democratic input or consent), Sen. Carper thinks it is wrong to renege on a deal.
I wish we could send an edited tape of the relevant parts of this hearing to every senior citizen of Delaware so that they could understand just how shamelessly in the hip pocket of Big Pharma their senior senator is.
Senator Jay Rockefeller was absolutely incredulous at the arguments Tom Carper made. If there is a capacity for shame in the soul of Mr. Carper, he is filled with it tonight. But I hope we can immortalize that shame. Let the video masters find the tape and do some editing. Let’s send it far and wide to seniors in Delaware. And then let’s primary this guy. His shit can’t stand the light of day.
I hope Booman will forgive me for the copy & paste job, but this is a message that needs to reach as wide an audience here in Delaware as possible. Eliminating the subsidy to the drug companies would save low-income seniors money, and save the government $85 billion dollars, but Tom Carper thinks it’s more important to hand taxpayer money to companies making record profits. Who will have the guts to stand up against this man? Will you tell your friends and neighbors?
I guarantee you the News Journal will not print this story, but sending a letter to the editor won’t hurt.
Tags: Drug Companies, Health Care Reform, Tom Carper, Tom Carper Sucks
I’m a Democrat and yet I despise Tom Carper and politicians like him. He’s in the pocket of the banks and Big Pharma, this article should surprise no one. The problem of getting rid of young Tom is that Delaware do’s not produce viable candidates, if so name them. Until then we get to stumble on with arrogant, ignorant fools like Carper and Castle.
Got to be on the lookout for this video today.
The Matthews for Senate 2012 campaign is beginning soon. I turn 30 that year and am constitutionally allowed to run. Of course, it will just be a vanity run in which I’ll position myself as the buffoon, but I think it’d be fun regardless.
Excellent. But Matthews, you must run as an Independent. Not like Joe Lieberman, more like Bernie Sanders. We already have Jason Scott running in the Democratic Primary versus Tom. Which will undoubtedly lead to a General Election campaign of Scott (D) v. Matthews (I) v. Protack/O’Whackjob (R).
Call Carper’s office and tell them that you oppose this amendment. The reason politicians get away with doing these things is because very few people pay attention. As we’ve learned from the Summer of Spittle, a few people making a lot of noise can get attention.
Who would Matthews draw the votes from – Scott or Protack/O’Donnell? We wouldn’t want Protack/O’Donnell sneaking into office.
Astra Zenaca
Carper is beholden to his Shaman, aka his (Astra) ZEN(eca) MASTER.
Scott’s running? I may just have to bow out and write my endorsement now.
Let’s stop calling it health care reform, and call it what it is
Corporate Welfare Reform
Let’s end having the pharmaceutical and insurance companies on the public dole. Teabaggers should appreciate this.
Let’s have videos of Corporate Welfare Dads driving their Lexuses (Lexi) and being flown in their corporate jets.
Have you ever thought about the jobs lost right here in Delaware if he didn’t send some to the drug companies? Cherry tomatoes please :)….
So many jobs that we’ve created here in Delaware have been at the expense of real people. In hindsight, was establishing Delaware as the Home to Usurous Credit Card Interest Rates a good thing? Was making the Court of Chancery the corporate boards’ best friend at the expense of shareholders a good thing? Maybe if we’d focused on jobs that actually created something tangible, instead of allowing get-rich-quick scam artists like MBNA to turn our economy literally into a house of (credit) cards, and if our ‘nationally-respected’ Court of Chancery offered a level playing field to stockholders instead of fixing the game for the corporate behemoths, we might be in much better shape to withstand the economic downturn than we are. Wow, that’s quite a run-on sentence…
Joanne, I don’t mind corporate welfare in the form of research grants and that sort of government handout. What I do object to is giving Pharma a license to gouge seniors. That is a tax aimed as those who can least afford it. It may be a hidden tax, but it is a health tax nevertheless.
jobs lost JC? huh, you mean on top of the jobs they have slowly been cutting already after we gave them huge tax breaks to take free land, rebuild 202 to their liking?
please…jobs…what a joke
Som–That hindsight took twenty plus years. I think the state derived a heck of a lot of benefit from that interim. Can’t even imagine “sports betting” will come anywhere near that…and that’s foresight!!
Rebecca–I am hopeful the difference will be adjusted in other ways. The Pharmas have made impressive and encouraging strides in outreach to the consumer directly for underwriting costs, and provision to those unable to afford. It also helps rapid track other pharmas to develop generic equivalencies at lower costs when the dispensation pool is identified as critical mass to potential profits. This encourages the expensive boutique drug to fast track to widespread affordable dispensation. Just look at Walmart, Target and others who have initiated their $4 month supply on a slew of drugs–cheaper than most co-pays w/ insurance. I look at that list and rejoice of what I know USED to be the price of the drug. If the government were involved, there would be no incentive to make it affordable for folks–because whatever the cost is–it will be paid. Dialing it down to Mother Hubbard forces pharma to re-evaluate. Just think about it.
No, support – Carper opposes the amendment, we should support it. The Nelson-Rockefeller amendment (hilarious name) is good.
I thought that was for generics though, and probably Canadian generics at that.
You’re right X, I need better reading skills.
Call Carper’s office and tell him you support the Nelson-Rockefeller amendment. If you’re talking to Carper’s office anyway, here’s a whole list of amendments to give your opinion on:
* 187, Rockefeller, addition of a public option.
* 185, Rockefeller, “Strike state exchanges, multiple competing exchanges, and regional exchanges, and create one national exchange”
* 191, Rockefeller, “Strike health care cooperatives”
* 196, Rockefeller, “Increase Medicaid eligibility to 150% of poverty”
* 201, Rockefeller/Hatch, “Remove the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) from the exchange”
* 206, Rockefeller, “Allow early retirees between ages 55 and 64 to buy into Medicare”
* 226, Kerry/Schumer, “Replace the Free Rider provision with an employer mandate”
* 248, Wyden, “To ensure affordable access to health insurance exchange plans for all Americans”
* 261, Schumer/Cantwell, “Public option as passed by HELP Committee”
* 274, Stabenow/Wyden/Kerry, “To ensure parity for mental health services within the exchange”
* 275, Stabenow, “Give states the option of including family planning as part of their Medicaid programs”
* 312, Menendez, “Providing a reduction in the out-of-pocket maximum for those between 300%-400% of poverty”
And oppose the Snowe public option trigger amendment. Hopefully he’ll also oppose the silly Hatch amendment that pandora highlighted yesterday.
Check what the NewsJournal business section says about our Senator Tom’s contributions to health care reform.
http://www.delawareonline.com/article/20090923/BUSINESS/909230334/1003#pluckcomments
Tom “railed against the impact of soaring health care costs on Delaware businesses and employees during his remarks at a Senate Finance committee hearing Tuesday morning”. “…speaking in loud emphatic tones.” Nobody rails like our Tom.
And it gets better!
Tom filed amendments “to require a STUDY on ways health plans can encourage the use of electronic health records;” and and…
“a STUDY of salary-based payments for physicians, as opposed to fee-for-service reimbursements.”
How about that Senator Tom! He does not merely DO something about the health care mess. He’s gonna STUDY it. Not once. but Twice !!
And don’t be fooled by the liberal NewsJournal’s misleading +online+ headline.
“Carper +blasts+ insurance costs for businesses, employees”
The real +print+ version reads”
“Carper +laments+ insurance costs for businesses, employees”
It’s so reassuring that our Senator Tom is down in DC, blastin’ and lamentin, and railin with “loud and emphatic tones” no less, for “increased public outreach” and several amendments “that he may +not+ seek a vote on”!!!
Ha ha ha, I knew the Snooze Journal wouldn’t have the guts to talk about Carper’s opposition to dumping subsidies that make costs higher rather than lower.
More about this here: campaignsilo.firedoglake.com/2009/09/23/carper-public-defends-secret-phrma-deal-in-exchange-for-support-ads/
I’m a bit confused. Sen. Carper’s statement supports the deal Obama made with drug companies and says not to renege on it. It doesn’t mention any deal made by Republicans with the drug companies five years ago.
Saw NJ’s rwilliams article today,”Carper fit, healthy and running again? editorial.
I responded that we don’t WANT Carper running again!
The speech he gave yesterday about how the committee needs to honor this bullshit agreement we’ve already made with big Pharma. I reminded Ron that we already know that Tommy’s already been bought by businesses and couldn’t give a crap about what the citizens of DE want or need.
TC ought to re-register as a Republicon!
Primary the old fuck.
Winning against him is much easier than most will believe.
and no….i won’t run. lol
It’s time for Tom to retire, or at the very least have a viable candidate running against him. We don’t need to be represented by a “Blue Dog” in the Senate. It’s too bad Sen. Kaufman isn’t going to seek the seat he holds now on his own. Senator Kaufman is a Senator with integrity, wisdom, all that Delaware needs in a Senator. Carper, on the other hand would rather tell you about his days in college as a dishwasher in a sorority house than talk policy. Tom, your time has come and gone.