How Obama bought support for Obamacare from the big Pharmaceutical companies

Bloomberg reports (hat tip: Instapundit) that the House Energy and Commerce Committee released documents revealing the deal that the Obama administration made with pharmaceutical companies to secure their support for Obamacare.

In a gift to big Pharma, Obama agreed to block re-importation of drugs from Canada and other countries where some drugs are cheaper than in the US.

In return, the pharmaceutical companies promised a big ad campaign to support both Obamacare and the politicians who supported it:

“As part of our agreement, PhRMA needs to undertake a very significant public campaign in order to support policies of mutual interest to the industry and the Administration,” according to a July 14, 2009, memo from the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America. “We have included a significant amount for advertising to express appreciation for lawmakers’ positions on health care reform issues.”

The goal, the memo said, was to “create momentum for consensus health care reform, help it pass, and then acknowledge those senators and representatives who were instrumental in making it happen and who must remain vigilant during implementation.”

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