CHESSNOID

This is pretty obvious to me since it is one of the problems facing America health care system today.  Even though the Obama administration and the House and Senate want to reform the system, all of them are refusing to face the facts that the drug company profiting off of sick people is a problem.  Why don’t they deal with this issue?  It is probably due to the fact that the drug company has big lobbyists and deep pockets.  Politicians should represent the people’s interest, but it is obvious they don’t as the drug companies ring up record year after year of profits.  Just watch any prime time television show on any channel, and I can guarantee you will see a drug related commercial.

Is it moral to create a drug to make profit at the expense of people dying?  If we are going to have a real health care reform, then they need to face these issues and deal with them.  Watch Sicko the movie and explain to me why prescription drugs are cheaper everywhere else.

San Francisco Chronicle:

President Obama declared swine flu a national emergency, a move intended to give hospitals and other medical facilities more flexibility in coping with the possible surge of infected patients, public health experts said Saturday.

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Swine flu has killed more than 1,000 people in the United States since April, according to the latest estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and infectious disease experts believe it has infected millions around the globe. In the Bay Area, 58 people had died from swine flu as of Sept. 26, according to the latest information from the California Department of Health Services. Seven of those deaths occurred in San Francisco.

USA Today:   Health care groups lobby at record pace

WASHINGTON — The drug and insurance industries have dramatically amped up their efforts to lobby Congress, spending millions over a three-month period to influence legislation aimed at reshaping the nation’s health care system, new reports show.

The Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America reported nearly $7 million in lobbying expenses from July through September. Overall, the group has spent nearly as much during the first nine months of 2009 as it did during the entire previous year.

Individual drug companies also have sharply increased lobbying. Pfizer, for instance, has spent more than $17 million in lobbying during the first nine months of this year, nearly twice its lobbying budget during the same period in 2008. Pfizer spokeswoman Kristen Neese said the spending reflects a commitment to “making our voice heard.”

America’s Health Insurance Plans, an association of insurance companies now battling with President Obama over the final shape of health care legislation, racked up $6.3 million in lobbying expenses this year — $1 million more than the same period in 2008, according to lobbying reports filed with Congress and data compiled by the non-partisan CQ MoneyLine.

The insurance industry opposes efforts to create a government-run insurance plan to compete with private firms and leveled attacks against a bill approved last week by a key Senate committee.