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Congressional Aides For Health Care Have Industry Ties

September 16, 2009

“Some of the mostly influential aides in the closed-door Senate Finance Committee negotiations over health care reform have ties to interests that would be quickly affected by the legislation,” Politico reports. An aide to Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., for example, “worked taken in the character of a exceedingly paid public policy adviser because WellPoint Inc., the commonwealth’s largest publicly traded health benefits crew.” The Health Policy Director for Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, “is conjugal to a registered lobbyist for a firm that represents drug companies and hospital groups.”

“There’sitting not one evidence that the aides’ ties have shaped the bill that Baucus hopes to clearance Tuesday, and the ultimate decisions over its provisions rest by the senators themselves. But critics say the involvement of such well-connected insiders could be in advance of to dangerous conflicts.” Politico adds that “[a]ll across Capitol Hill, a number of former lobbyists, consultants and advisers in quest of firms that represent consumers, patients, hospitals, insurers, pharmaceutical companies and medical device makers are now in key positions in the House and Senate, according to a reviewal of society records” (Raju, 9/15).

This information was reprinted from kaiserhealthnews.org with kind allowance from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. You can view the entire Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, search the archives and sign up for email delivery at kaiserhealthnews.org.

© Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. All rights reserved.

Written by Samanta · Filed Under Pharmacy Industry News