I have a whole lot of opinions about the Medicare bill, but I'll leave them for later. This is instructive, however:
Howard Kurtz writes in the Post:
And for good measure, I just got this email from the Center for Responsive Politics:"House members who helped to pass sweeping Medicare legislation in an early morning vote Saturday have been among the biggest beneficiaries of contributions from health insurers, HMOs and pharmaceutical manufacturers, three industries that stand to benefit financially if the bill becomes law. . . .
"Pharmaceutical manufacturers, for example, have averaged $28,504 to the 204 Republicans who supported the bill, but just $8,112 to the 25 Republicans who opposed it. Pharmaceutical contributions to Democrats on both sides of the debate are less varied.
"The 16 Democrats who voted 'yes' on the bill have raised an average of $16,296 from pharmaceutical manufacturers, while the 189 Democrats who voted 'no' have raised an average of $11,791.
"If pharmaceutical manufacturers have been less consistent in their giving to Republicans than to Democrats, the opposite is true for health insurers. Their giving reflects a greater disparity among Democrats than among Republicans.
"Democrats who supported the bill have raised far more, on average, from health insurers ($22,376) than have Democrats who opposed the measure ($9,692). Republicans who supported the industry position have raised an average of $19,286 from health insurers, while Republicans who voted against the industry have raised an average of $13,828."
It truly is "The Best Congress Money Can Buy."
Posted by Linkmeister at November 25, 2003 11:13 AM