|
||||||||
Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Top Lobbying Spenders The health care industry was the top spender on federal lobbying in 1999 according to a new report compiled from disclosure forms lobbyists are required to file for public review. Within the health care industry, pharmaceutical manufacturers spent the most—$73.8 million in 1999. Drug companies such as Merck & Co., Amgen Inc., and Eli Lilly & Company were fighting President Clinton's proposal to create a Medicare prescription drug benefit, saying it would lead to price controls. In 1999, Amgen and other companies such as Johnson and Johnson's Centocor successfully lobbied Congress and the administration to set aside $400 million annually over the next three years to help hospitals buy drugs for Medicare patients getting outpatient care. Amgen, the world's largest biotechnology company, relies heavily on Medicare and Medicaid programs for its revenues and spent $2.4 million during the first half of 1999. Merck & Co. Inc., a drug-maker whose sales are nine times more than Amgen's, spent $2.7 million on lobbying during the same period, the most of any pharmaceutical or biotechnology company. Source: “Drugmakers Boost Lobbying Spending 10% During Medicare Fight,” Bloomberg News, January 6, 2000. This article first appeared in Volume 5, Issue 5 of "The Social Security and Medicare Advisor" newsletter (April/2000). To receive future editions of "The Advisor" in its special, free e-mail version, please click here. | ||||||||
|
|
||||||||
