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Lobbyists spending 1.4M a DAY against any public option

From Icebergslim:

Wake Up!! Lobbyists spending 1.4M a DAY against any public option
by icebergslim
Mon Jul 06, 2009 at 05:08:33 AM PDT

This is cold water on many faces.

Not faces here, not faces who follow politics, but for everyone else.

If you are one of the millions with no health insurance, lost your job and can not afford COBRA payments (which is a joke), insured but your coverage is lacking and you are paying sky high premiums or have you gone bankrupt because you either have or don't have any insurance?

Now is not the time to sit on the sidelines.

Many that have insurance or feel comfortable that nothing will happen, think again. One of those stories can easily become a nightmare for you and your family.

The nation's largest insurers, hospitals and medical groups have hired more than 350 former government staff members and retired members of Congress in hopes of influencing their old bosses and colleagues, according to an analysis of lobbying disclosures and other records.

Nearly half of the insiders previously worked for the key committees and lawmakers, including Sens. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and Charles E. Grassley (R-Iowa), debating whether to adopt a public insurance option opposed by major industry groups. At least 10 others have been members of Congress, such as former House majority leaders Richard K. Armey (R-Tex.) and Richard A. Gephardt (D-Mo.), both of whom represent a New Jersey pharmaceutical firm.

The hirings are part of a record-breaking influence campaign by the health-care industry, which is spending more than $1.4 million a day on lobbying in the current fight, according to disclosure records. And even in a city where lobbying is a part of life, the scale of the effort has drawn attention. For example, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) doubled its spending to nearly $7 million in the first quarter of 2009, followed by Pfizer, with more than $6 million.

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