Doctors are receiving incentives, for prescribing medications, from pharmaceutical companies.
Fortney H. "Pete" Stark, a central California Congressman (Dem.), spoke on the practice.
The New York Times gave attention to this issue last month:
Barry Meier, "An Rx for Ethics: New Rules on Doctors and Medical Firms Amid Conflict Concerns," January 24, 2009, p. B1.
Jerry Avron of Harvard Medical School said that "Most of what doctors know about drugs comes from the industry, and that's not healthy." (Elizabeth Williamson and Christopher Lee, "Conflict Alleged in Drug Firms' Education Role" "Washington Post" June 27, 2007 p. A 3.)
Until these incentives (and any kickbacks from pharmaceuticals to doctors) are entirely eradicated, we should be apprehensive when doctors are eager to get us onto regular prescription regimens.
Showing posts with label conflict of interest. Show all posts
Showing posts with label conflict of interest. Show all posts
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Besides bailout, House passed Credit Cardholders' Bill of Rights
We all know about the bailout bill ... lost in the storm of attention to it was the Credit Cardholder's Bill of Rights, sponsored by Carolyn Maloney (Democrat -New York, NY).
The House of Representatives passed, by a 312-112 margin, The Credit Cardholders Bill of Rights protecting consumers from unfair fees and interest charges on their credit cards.
Details on themiddleclass.org.
(Click here to see your representative's vote --all the noes were Republican, except one Democrat)
But note: only the house has passed this, so far. At least the New York Times chimed in, supporting the idea of the Senate's passing the bill. "The Fed [Federal Reserve] itself has described the credit card companies’ bag of tricks as 'deceptive'and 'anti-competitive.'"
The House of Representatives passed, by a 312-112 margin, The Credit Cardholders Bill of Rights protecting consumers from unfair fees and interest charges on their credit cards.
Details on themiddleclass.org.
(Click here to see your representative's vote --all the noes were Republican, except one Democrat)
But note: only the house has passed this, so far. At least the New York Times chimed in, supporting the idea of the Senate's passing the bill. "The Fed [Federal Reserve] itself has described the credit card companies’ bag of tricks as 'deceptive'and 'anti-competitive.'"
Monday, August 11, 2008
McCain's lobbyist culture: Georgia
What relationships could prejudice John McCain's pronouncements on the South Ossetia-based Russia/Georgia war? Again, where is the straight talk coming from? Let us see what is in the background of what McCain is saying in his loud talk. Everytime he speaks forcefully on an issue, there is, coincidentally, a conflict of interest: there are staff links or contribution links between him and the issue. (Either there is a major staff advisor that has lobbyist ties or McCain has been getting contributions from an industry, indicating a conflict of interest.) Hence, the Barack Obama campaign spokesperson Hari Sevugan says: John McCain is
Last week, we addressed McCain's connection to big oil financial contributors.
Now it is revealed today in "The Wall Street Journal" that
McCain's top foreign policy advisor, Randy Scheunemann that was on the pay from the government of the Caucasus republic of Georgia, as a lobbyist, until March. However, this interruption in the lobbyist role does not represent a break from Georgia. In April, Scheunemann's consulting company, Orion Strategies, signed a $200,000 contract to represent the country's interest. Scheunemann argues that he is less entwined with the firm, as he is has stopped being a registered lobbyist for the company, yet one should remember that he still owns the company. This bears strong parallels to Vice President Dick Cheney's removing himself from Halliburton's daily operations, and the financial windfalls that he has enjoyed from Halliburton.
Previously, Scheunemann had been a foreign policy aide to Senator Trent Lott (Mississippi). McCain has been inappropriately sociable with Georgia President Mikheil Saakashvili. "The Wall Street Journal" article, "McCain Adviser Was Lobbyist for Georgia", adds that McCain on his third trip to Georgia (2006), McCain rode around on jet skiis at the Black Sea villa with Saakashvili.
Should U.S. Senators be practicing sporting activities with foreign leaders? The coziness can lead to an impression of being too amiable and a likeliness to develop policy bias in favor of the foreign state or foreign interests.
Scheunemann's influence should be troubling for anyone, liberal or those conservatives less inclined to neoconservative international adventurism. Scheunemann has been an aggressive voice advocating for regime change. In 2002 he served as the executive director of the Committee for the Liberation of Iraq. He also had close ties with the Iraqi Ahmed Chalabi, dating to Chalabi's pre-invasion exile years. Other parts of Scheunemann's professional portfolio include lobbying for a range of countries --including Georgia-- that wish to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. On
July 20, Scheunemann's name arose in a "Times of London" report of the dismissal of the George W. Bush lobbyist Stephen Payne. (Payne had been dismissed after offering to bribe White House officials with a $250,000 contribution to the Bush Presidential Library.) Payne said that Scheunemann was “working with me on my payroll for five of the last eight years.” (Scheunemann worked for the Azerbaijan-based Caspian Alliance in 2005. The Caspian Alliance is a subsidiary of Payne's Worldwide Strategic Energy.) For more discussion of the McCain-Scheunemann-Payne-foreign interest links, see Lindsay Beyerstein's July 22 piece, "McCain campaign continues to obscure the record on Scheunemann and Payne."
"ensconced in a lobbyist culture."
Last week, we addressed McCain's connection to big oil financial contributors.
Now it is revealed today in "The Wall Street Journal" that
McCain's top foreign policy advisor, Randy Scheunemann that was on the pay from the government of the Caucasus republic of Georgia, as a lobbyist, until March. However, this interruption in the lobbyist role does not represent a break from Georgia. In April, Scheunemann's consulting company, Orion Strategies, signed a $200,000 contract to represent the country's interest. Scheunemann argues that he is less entwined with the firm, as he is has stopped being a registered lobbyist for the company, yet one should remember that he still owns the company. This bears strong parallels to Vice President Dick Cheney's removing himself from Halliburton's daily operations, and the financial windfalls that he has enjoyed from Halliburton.
Previously, Scheunemann had been a foreign policy aide to Senator Trent Lott (Mississippi). McCain has been inappropriately sociable with Georgia President Mikheil Saakashvili. "The Wall Street Journal" article, "McCain Adviser Was Lobbyist for Georgia", adds that McCain on his third trip to Georgia (2006), McCain rode around on jet skiis at the Black Sea villa with Saakashvili.
Should U.S. Senators be practicing sporting activities with foreign leaders? The coziness can lead to an impression of being too amiable and a likeliness to develop policy bias in favor of the foreign state or foreign interests.
Scheunemann's influence should be troubling for anyone, liberal or those conservatives less inclined to neoconservative international adventurism. Scheunemann has been an aggressive voice advocating for regime change. In 2002 he served as the executive director of the Committee for the Liberation of Iraq. He also had close ties with the Iraqi Ahmed Chalabi, dating to Chalabi's pre-invasion exile years. Other parts of Scheunemann's professional portfolio include lobbying for a range of countries --including Georgia-- that wish to join the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. On
The links with energy interests just keep on coming.
July 20, Scheunemann's name arose in a "Times of London" report of the dismissal of the George W. Bush lobbyist Stephen Payne. (Payne had been dismissed after offering to bribe White House officials with a $250,000 contribution to the Bush Presidential Library.) Payne said that Scheunemann was “working with me on my payroll for five of the last eight years.” (Scheunemann worked for the Azerbaijan-based Caspian Alliance in 2005. The Caspian Alliance is a subsidiary of Payne's Worldwide Strategic Energy.) For more discussion of the McCain-Scheunemann-Payne-foreign interest links, see Lindsay Beyerstein's July 22 piece, "McCain campaign continues to obscure the record on Scheunemann and Payne."
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