The Much Less Secret Life Of Howard Dean, Drug Industry Advisor

Interesting – no one raised the possibility that monopoly profits for alleviating suffering and death might not be justified. The free market, in theory, would say an effective innovator willing to take an incrementally lower profit margin should be favored. The stock market, however, says you get rewarded for maximizing the burden you place on those least able to defend themselves.

OK, looking quickly I read the text as — Opponents of the measure believe shorter patients pose a risk. Thought hmmm that’s a new argument about health care.

Doing Emily Latella, Never mind.

Proof that the mobs don’t truly know anything about this issue. Ask them about shorter patents and they’ll give you a blank stare…

http://www.political-buzz.com/

bravo to Howard Dean for noting his potential conflicts of interest before answering the first question.
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the most interesting aspect of this discussion is how it dovetails with the PhRMA memo that HuffPo reported on — that memo discussed the “biologic” drugs, and PhRMA’s efforts to exploit them for maximum profits.

apologies. at one point i posted the video without any of the text. that is fixed now.

Michael Scherer:
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I’m unclear on something:

It should be required of all paid consultants who do television punditry.

Is it the responsibility of Dean or CNBC (Daschle or NBC) to disclose his lobbying firm’s clients’ interest in the outcome of a policy debate?
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To whose proposed requirement are you referring?

Things I’ve learned this morning that please me:

1. Walmart is boycotting Glenn Beck

2. “In an interview with the Huffington Post on Saturday, Richard Trumka, the secretary-treasurer and likely next president of the AFL-CIO, said his federation is drawing a line in the sand when it comes to a public option in the health care bill. Lawmakers who don’t support the provision, he said, shouldn’t take anything for granted.

“We’ll look at every one of their votes,” Trumka said after his speech at the Netroots Nation convention. “If they’re against the Employee Free Choice Act, if they’re against health care for that reason, I think it’ll be tough for them to get support from working people.”

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2009/08/18-13

both

Thank you so very much for that clarification, Michael Scherer.
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I’d say the responsibility weighs a tad bit more on the news organization than the shill, but overall I think that you’re right.

Michael what connection do you, Klein and Tumulty have to the private health insurance industry?

And things I’ve read this morning that displease me:

Obama:

“We must never forget,” he said. “This is not a war of choice. This is a war of necessity. Those who attacked America on 9/11 are plotting to do so again. If left unchecked, the Taliban insurgency will mean an even larger safe haven from which Al Qaeda would plot to kill more Americans.

“So this is not only a war worth fighting. This is fundamental to the defense of our people.”

God, that’s downright Bushian.

Counterpoint to his b-s:

Malalai Joya a female Member of the Afghan Parliament

But do these relationships really have an impact on his opinions? I’m not sure I see it.

http://www.political-buzz.com/

Howard Dean is a test pilot for all the psycho drugs his health care clients make.

What proof because the polls run counter to your belief?

Here is a breath of fresh air for you.
Consider you and the rest of the liberal crowd maybe wrong. I know a shock but you know even Haley’s Comet shows up once on awhile.

There were two thoughts I had while reading this article:

1. Why is disclosure necessary if the proposals being touted benefit everyone.

2. Why are we talking about national insurance when the entire health care insurance fraud is broken in the first place.

I don’t really care what politicians have been paid by whom. That’s a given in today’s political scene. Everyone has some hand in some cookie jar for legislation they are promoting one way or another.

But why the hell are we talking about creating a governmental ‘insurance policy’ when we don’t have a fix for what’s really wrong in health care today: THE PROFIT MOTIVE.

I firmly believe we should nationalize ALL primary health care. Basic guarantees for treating diseases, malformations, illnesses and injuries. NO PROFITS to the companies involved. They do it for a modest (and I mean VERY SMALL) markup or not at all. This includes pharma. I’d close all health insurance companies completely to primary care and the attendant treatments/needs. If someone wants to buy health insurance for vanity reasons, fine. (Lasik, boob jobs, lipo-suction things of that nature which are patently not medically necessary). Plastic surgery would be covered if there was an obvious deformity (Cleft palate, scars from burns, etc) but not for face lifts and other vanity reasons.

I don’t think this care should be free, though. I believe everyone should pay based on ability, with tax payer money covering the rest. The floor doesn’t exist – even if the charge is ten bucks. Everyone pays SOMETHING.

We need to take the profit motive out of treating people. It’s more profitable to create treatments than cures. It’s more profitable to order expensive, unnecessary tests than just what is needed. It’s more profitable to tout the latest and greatest drug when older, less expensive ones often work just as well or better. People are dying because they can’t afford basic health care today. It’s time we as a civilized society and the “richest nation on earth” made sure the basic health care needs of our citizens are covered.

Michael Scherer, what is it in your past that limits your exploration into the financial connections of those not on the left of the health care debate. Despite repeated requests, you’ve done nothing to explore the financial connections Dick Armey. Last Saturday CNN spent an entire afternoon covering a town hall put together by Americans For Prosperity, these representatives were interviewed, were represented as ordinary grass roots organizations, when they’ve been previously exposed by others as industry shills. Where is your outrage about that?. Should I assume it is because CNN and Time share the same company picnic? Does your reluctance to explore the ties of Dick Armey have anything to do with the fact that his organization freedom works has a financial connection with Americans For Prosperity that CNN failed to question the validity of their premise that they were holding a grassroots town hall rather than a paid corporate event?
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You want to question the credibility of those speaking to the public and that’s an admirable quest, but you lose all credibility if the only credibility you challenge are those on the opposite end of your ideological persuasion. And Mike in case you weren’t sure, now one thinks you are even remotely fair and balanced.

“We need to take the profit motive out of treating people. It’s more profitable to create treatments than cures. It’s more profitable to order expensive, unnecessary tests than just what is needed. It’s more profitable to tout the latest and greatest drug when older, less expensive ones often work just as well or better. People are dying because they can’t afford basic health care today. It’s time we as a civilized society and the “richest nation on earth” made sure the basic health care needs of our citizens are covered.”

Believing that new drugs, treatments and products will continued to be developed for little or no profit is reasonable in a fairy tale world. Why would companies take the risk of failure and the legal liability risk for free? In your expansive list of do’s and don’ts you fail to mention anything about tort reform which accounts for a fair amount of added cost to the health care system. Since we seem to love the UK health system why not duplicate loser pays system they use? Any takers?

Yo Dee:

You want to question the credibility of those speaking to the public and that’s an admirable quest, but you lose all credibility if the only credibility you challenge are those on the opposite end of your ideological persuasion.

Physician Heal Thyself!

Le Krug:

“Actually, I really don’t even want to think about health care right now. It’s too painful. Have the Obama team learned nothing from the past 16 years? No concession will satisfy Republicans — they’ve said so themselves! Yet the administration keeps signaling weakness.”

Dee, criticizing Dick Armey won’t help MS get a link from Drudge or Drudge 2.0.
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“The Much-Less Secret Life Of…”
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Then why are you wasting our time with it?

Well isn’t that nice. How about ragging on Dick Army for his never announced connection to the group promoting chaos at town hall meetings.

For those who missed Rick Perlstein’s chat yesterday, a follow up to his excellent column about ‘the blooming crazy tree during liberal ascendancy’

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/discussion/2009/08/14/DI2009081402554.html

Nice to have a reason to read WaPo for a change…

Spelling nitpick of the day: One does not “tow” a line in the cliche, one “toes” it. YCLIU. Check it out at http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/toe+the+line There’s a more detailed explanation at http://www.word-detective.com/103001.html#toetheline

Interesting comments critical of the horrible profit motive. It is a pretty safe argument that the profit motive has created all the incredible medical advances we have seen, especially in the last 50 years. All the extra tests doctors may order are more likely caused by malpractice expenses, rather than making extra money.

Real reform would include some type of caps on malpractice lawsuits. That isn’t in any of the bills because trial lawyers in bed with most of the Democratic party. That is also why virtually all Democrats support the Employee Free Choice Act, a joke of a bill–more so during a recession. By the way, who cares what Trumka has to say about health care reform. He doesn’t represent working Americans. He represents labor unions–which only make up less than 8% of the private sector.

Some of the arrogance of the comments are mind boggling. Stop trying to tell me that this false reform is good for me. We don’t need lazy government union workers taking over my health care decisions.

thanks. will fix.

Does this mean Howard Scream still works for the CIA, or was that just his brother?

I have a hard time separating the lib sheep from the lib shiite.

“Note that after he stated the disclosure, Dean effectively toed the line of his clients, whose views may well be in line with what he believed before the extra paychecks.”

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Because everyone knows that former MD’s are generally pillars of the community.

[...] UPDATE: For more on the much less secret life of Howard Dean, drug industry adviser, click here. [...]

[...] then I ran across this skeleton in Dean’s closet, Howard Dean, the former head of the Democratic National Committee, and an outspoken advocate for [...]