How Money in Politics Makes Healthcare Unaffordable

Does spending more make us feel better?

Every year, America spends 18 percent of its national wealth on health care —that’s 60 percent more than other rich countries like Switzerland and Japan (bothconsidered to have particularly pricey health care systems). But according to the CIA, America ranks fiftieth in life expectancy, behind Portugal, Bosnia, Jordan, and dozens of others.

Pharmaceutical companies, hospitals, and insurance companies jockey to see who can extract the most money from Americans and their government. For the most part, it’s not just about making Americans healthier—it’s about who can charge you the most, while delivering as little real care as possible.

Protecting the status quo

Healthcare lobbyists spent $390 every second of 2010 fighting the healthcare reform bill.

We can blame political corruption for this dramatic rise in costs and decline in quality of care. In 2009 and 2010, while lawmakers attempted to enact healthcare reform, the health insurance lobby spent $263 million in Washington, D.C. Meanwhile, the pharmaceutical lobby, called the “biggest [lobby] in the nation” by the Center for Public Integrity hired 1,790 registered lobbyists to influence lawmakers. They used every tool they have—lobbying, campaign donations, high-priced fundraisers, and more—to bend policies in their favor and preserve the lucrative status quo.

Health care corruption vs. the free market

There are 1,546 healthcare lobbyists in Washington. That's 3 for every member of Congress.

In 2003, the health care industry lobbied heavily to urge Congress to pass a massive prescription drug benefit for seniors, called Medicare Part D. Though health care spending is usually associated with Democrats, this one was passed through a Republican Congress and signed by a Republican president. Neatly tucked into the bill was a massive windfall for the drug companies, a provision that ensured that the government was not allowed to negotiate with drug makers on price – making it impossible for the U.S. government to secure a better deal for the American people. The politician who passed the bill, Bill Tauzin, nearly immediately retired to become the head of PhRMA  Big Pharma’s biggest lobbying organization. This move earned him a $2.5 million paycheck – a 7110 percent raise.

This is not a partisan problem

Subsequent attempts to let the government negotiate with drug makers, or allow the importation of drugs from Canada, have failed in both Republican and Democratic Congresses. During the 2009 debates over health care reform,  the Obama White House had decided to continue the blockade on drug maker negotiations in return for campaign cash from pharmaceutical companies to supportive Democrats.

The healthcare industry turned a $100 billion profit from its work lobbying against reform.

Money from the health care industry is quite useful to politicians. They use it to fund campaigns, so politicians can buy advertising to persuade voters to vote for them. It’s as close as you can get to legalized bribery.

At the same time, the health care industry, particularly Big Pharma, funds a majority of the drug trials (63 percent, according to Harvard Law professor Lawrence Lessig) politicians use to inform their decisions. Isn’t that exactly what a conflict of interest is?

As long as the healthcare industry funds our politicians, medicine will stay expensive and our quality of care will continue to sink. It’s not just corruption of the healthcare industry—it’s corruption of our health.

It’s time to declare: Our health is Not For Sale. It’s time to get money out of politics.

Get the facts about money in politics and healthcare

• Hospitals and similar medical facilities, and health care professionals, contributed $99.5 million and $80 million, respectively. Source: OpenSecrets
• In 2008, the Democratic Party received 54 percent of the health sector budget. Source: OpenSecrets
• A gathering of large, national, “heavy hitter” companies, are spending more than $1 million a day in order to better implement their views of healthcare on a national level. Source: OpenSecrets

Read more

• Republic Report: Golden Rule Insurance Funneled Cash To Front Group That Defended Business Practice of Denying Care to Sick Patients
• Republic Report: Oklahoma Republican Representative Says “Blood Money” From Drug Industry Killed Anti-Meth Bill
• Republic Report: Americans For Tax Reform Takes $140,000 From PhRMA, Betrays Free Markets
• Republic Report: Did The Obama Administration Funnel Federal Dollars To Lawmakers To ‘Buy’ Votes On Legislation?
• Republic Report: Drug Industry Group Spent $194,000 In January Alone To Fight Kentucky Anti-Meth Legislation
• Republic Report: Backed By Big Food, Congressman Introduces Bill to Ban Govt. From Advertising Against Junk Foods
• New York Times: Groups Blanket Supreme Court on Health Care

What’s next?

Find out how corruption affects the other issues you care about:
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