The Health Care Reform - "$600 Million Spent on Reform Campaigns"

The Democrats are desperate to please president Obama and get the comprehensive health care bill passed and this shows on the amount of money spent to influence the negotiations on bill. Up to this day the total amount spent on lobbyists, ads and political donations exceeded $600 million, an amount that would insure about 45,000 families for a whole year. The major spenders in this case are drug companies, hospitals and advocate groups. The largest amount, almost $400 million went to lobbyists, half of which are spent by drug companies. Furthermore, the price tag of lobbying excludes money spent by the Chamber of Commerce ($60 million) and the AARP ($15 million). Spending on TV ads by health care interests totaled over $165 million, most spending coming from opponents of the reform. Also, political donations for the 2010 elections have already totaled $38 million. Health industry executives defend their spending by pointing towards the importance of the reform – after all, health care accounts for almost 1/6th of the US economy.

by Lucie

Source: CNN Money November 18, 2009