Take on the drug companies

Six years ago, when Congress was writing a new prescription drug benefit for Medicare, the name-brand pharmaceutical lobby was in Republican leaders' offices carving out subsidies and exemptions for itself. Today, the same special interest group is working hand-in-hand with the Democratic leadership to ensure its companies, some of the most profitable in the world, retain that title.

Then, I was one of a few Republicans to speak out against the deal to protect Big Pharma interests and prices. Now, moderate Democrats are in the same difficult position, but the stakes are much higher.

Early in the negotiations, Big Pharma was first at the White House's table. They pledged to contribute $80 billion to reform health care, but it now is apparent that they stand to gain at least as much in profit from the changes they have proposed. Furthermore, the industry negotiated an agreement to stop various reforms of the industry from taking place in the future, including billions in savings through Medicare Part B and Part D.

Prescription drugs are far different from any other good we buy in the United States. We pay the world's highest prices, despite being the world's best customers. We give preferential tax treatment for research and development to an industry that spends more on marketing and lobbying than they do on research and development. And we protect Big Pharma from competition by other countries and other alternatives, like generic drugs, with provisions held out of bills or deemed "unenforceable" by friendly administrations.

And the high costs of name-brand prescription drugs carry serious consequences for any American who needs them, particularly the poor, those on fixed incomes and senior citizens. In fact, the biggest reason Social Security beneficiaries need a cost-of-living adjustment while every other American is glad to have lower prices on essential items in the last year is because -- inflation or deflation -- the prices of name-brand medicines always go up. Tough times mean Americans split their pills, skip them or simply don't fill the prescriptions their doctors write for them if they are too expensive. Alternatively, they miss meals or turn down the heat in winter to make extra room in fixed-income budgets.

The success of Big Pharma in Washington is no secret. There are 2.5 pharmaceutical lobbyists for every member of Congress. The industry spends more than $600,000 per day to influence decision-makers and protect hundreds of billions in annual profits. Former congressional staffers who once worked for influential members or committees dominate their payrolls. And it is impossible to sift all of the backroom deals and secret memos from the 1,990-page bill in the House of Representatives.

It's time for Congress to stand up to Big Pharma. Sham savings and a systemic failure to address real reforms mean that Americans cannot get the health care they need -- no matter how good their insurance.

Jo Ann Emerson of Cape Girardeau represents Missouri's 8th District in the U.S. House of Representatives. She wrote this article for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.