A Lesson Here -- For Big Pharma -- Ignore Fairness Long Enough, And Legislation Ensues

As President Obama frames the debate for his "Summit on Health Care" scheduled for Thursday -- there is a clear lesson being taught (again! -- think about the new federal rules essentially ending investment banks as we knew them in the previous 16 years). True enough, the insurer regulations strike a populist note, but they are also born of decades of health insurers' excesses: not playing fair; cutting corners and bullying opponents -- and, in large measure, taking advantage of the crazy-quilt of state-by-state insurance regulatory authorities. That time is ending, now -- with an exclamation point, too.

So -- that punctuation mark? A new, uniform, federal set of health insurance rate regulations. The President's weekly address set out a plan to regulate health insurance rates, at the federal level. And insurers like Anthem have only themselves to blame. There is a similar lesson here for big pharma -- bend the rules too much, and for too long -- and you'll be next:

. . . .Some Republicans want to allow Americans to purchase insurance from a company in another state to give people more choices and bring down costs. Some Republicans have also suggested giving small businesses the power to pool together and offer health care at lower prices, just as big companies and labor unions do. I think both of these are good ideas -– so long as we pursue them in a way that protects benefits, protects patients, and protects the American people. I hope Democrats and Republicans can come together next week around these and other ideas.

To members of Congress, I would simply say this. We know the American people want us to reform our health insurance system. We know where the broad areas of agreement are. And we know where the sources of disagreement lie. After debating this issue exhaustively for a year, let’s move forward together. Next week is our chance to finally reform our health insurance system so it works for families and small businesses. It’s our chance to finally give Americans the peace of mind of knowing that they’ll be able to have affordable coverage when they need it most.

What’s being tested here is not just our ability to solve this one problem, but our ability to solve any problem. Right now, Americans are understandably despairing about whether partisanship and the undue influence of special interests in Washington will make it impossible for us to deal with the big challenges that face our country. They want to see us focus not on scoring points, but on solving problems; not on the next election but on the next generation. That is what we can do, and that is what we must do when we come together for this bipartisan health care meeting next week. . . .

New Merck CEO Dick Clark, and (Pfizer) CEO Jeff Kindler -- and whomever you two next appoint to lead PhRMA -- are you "getting this"? I sure hope so -- for your shareholders' sakes, if none other. [Yes, my graphic above suggests that I think reimportation will be back on the table -- and soon.]