Mr. Lieberman now opposes both public option and early medicare buy-in, a change in position the senate majority leader has described as 'vexing'.
According to the WSJ, senate aides recalled a September interview with the Connecticut Post, in which Mr. Lieberman suggested giving people 55 and older "an option to buy into Medicare early."
The NY Times noted that Mr. Lieberman has taken more than $1 million from the industry over his Senate career. He ranked second in the Senate in contributions from the industry in 2006.
While he does seem to recall the industry contributions, what has become of his 'commitment' to health care reform?
According to Matt Kapp (thanks to A.C. for the reference in vanity fair, sept 24, 2009) "The health-care industry’s ... doled out nearly $170 million in campaign contributions in 2007 and 2008.
ReplyDeleteIt now spends more than any other industry lobbying the federal government—$3.5 billion over the past decade and a record $263 million in the first six months of this year. That’s six lobbyists and nearly half a million dollars for each member of Congress.
(Although) Politicians deny that the money they get from health-care interests has in any way swayed their opinions on reform, ... it sure seems to have flagged their resolve. In the first six months of this year:
* Senator Blanche Lincoln brought in $325,350 from health-care-industry interests. She recently came out against the public option, the biggest menace to insurance companies ...
* Senate majority leader Harry Reid, who supports a public option but thinks it ought to be privately run, collected $382,400.
* Senator Max Baucus, head of the bipartisan “Gang of Six” health-care-reform committee, has brought in $1.5 million since he began holding healthcare hearings in 2007.
as long as our health-care system is a casino-haven for ambitious M.B.A.’s, Wall Street brokerages, middlemen, and bottom-feeders looking for easy money, it will remain broken for the rest of us ... "