HEALTH AND SAFETY

» Drug, Devices, and Supplements

» Physician Accountability

» Consumer Product Safety

» Worker Safety

» Health Care Delivery

» Auto and Truck Safety

» Global Access to Medicines

» Infant Formula Marketing

 

More resources on health care politics and terminology

Letter in Washington Post Regarding President Obama's Effort to Reform Health Care

Fair-Weather Reformers


March 12, 2009

Read the letter at WashingtonPost.com.

The pharmaceutical and insurance lobbies have offered early support for President Obama's effort to reform health care ["In Health Plan, Industry Sees Good Business," front page, March 5]. Judging by the measures discussed, they have little reason to oppose it.

Mr. Obama and many legislators favor incremental changes such as increasing Medicaid drug rebates and expanding the use of health information technology, measures that do nothing to trim the massively wasteful administrative spending associated with private insurance. Subsidizing expensive and inadequate health insurance or requiring that Americans purchase it would be a windfall to the private insurance industry, as Medicare Part D is to the pharmaceutical industry.

However, the moment the bottom line of these special interests is threatened, the reception will not be so rosy. Karen Ignagni, president and chief executive of the lobby group America's Health Insurance Plans, has fired warning shots over proposed cuts to Medicare Advantage. With this program, private insurers receive a government subsidy of 14 percent over the costs of regular Medicare while selectively enrolling seniors with less costly illnesses and pocketing the difference.

If we truly want to reduce costs and expand health-care access to all Americans, we must eliminate private insurance and move to a single-payer system of financing. But we must be prepared to fight the special interests that won't see this as "good business."

James Floyd
Research Fellow
Public Citizen

Copyright © 2013 Public Citizen. All rights reserved. This Web site is shared by Public Citizen Inc. and Public Citizen Foundation.
  Learn More about the distinction between these two components of Public Citizen.


Public Citizen, Inc. and Public Citizen Foundation

 

Together, two separate corporate entities called Public Citizen, Inc. and Public Citizen Foundation, Inc., form Public Citizen. Both entities are part of the same overall organization, and this Web site refers to the two organizations collectively as Public Citizen.

Although the work of the two components overlaps, some activities are done by one component and not the other. The primary distinction is with respect to lobbying activity. Public Citizen, Inc., an IRS § 501(c)(4) entity, lobbies Congress to advance Public Citizen’s mission of protecting public health and safety, advancing government transparency, and urging corporate accountability. Public Citizen Foundation, however, is an IRS § 501(c)(3) organization. Accordingly, its ability to engage in lobbying is limited by federal law, but it may receive donations that are tax-deductible by the contributor. Public Citizen Inc. does most of the lobbying activity discussed on the Public Citizen Web site. Public Citizen Foundation performs most of the litigation and education activities discussed on the Web site.

You may make a contribution to Public Citizen, Inc., Public Citizen Foundation, or both. Contributions to both organizations are used to support our public interest work. However, each Public Citizen component will use only the funds contributed directly to it to carry out the activities it conducts as part of Public Citizen’s mission. Only gifts to the Foundation are tax-deductible. Individuals who want to join Public Citizen should make a contribution to Public Citizen, Inc., which will not be tax deductible.

 

To become a member of Public Citizen, click here.
To become a member and make an additional tax-deductible donation to Public Citizen Foundation, click here.