In a bizarre coincidence, the nation's two top-billing Medicare doctors are both bigtime Democratic donors. Political Ties of Top Billers for Medicare http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/10/b...lings-is-no-stranger-to-scrutiny.html?hp&_r=1 Two Florida doctors who received the nationâs highest Medicare reimbursements in 2012 are both major contributors to Democratic Party causes, and they have turned to the political system in recent years to defend themselves against suspicions that they may have submitted fraudulent or excessive charges to the federal government. The pattern of large Medicare payments and six-figure political donations shows up among several of the doctors whose payment records were released for the first time this week by the Department of Health and Human Services. For years, the department refused to make the data public, and finally did so only after being sued by The Wall Street Journal. Topping the list is Dr. Salomon E. Melgen, 59, an ophthalmologist from North Palm Beach, Fla., who received $21 million in Medicare reimbursements in 2012 alone. The doctor billed a bulk of his reimbursements for Lucentis, a medication used to treat macular degeneration made by a company that pays generous rebates to its doctors. Dr. Melgenâs firm donated more than $700,000 to Majority PAC, a super PAC run by former aides to the Senate majority leader, Harry Reid, Democrat of Nevada. The super PAC then spent $600,000 to help re-elect Senator Robert Menendez, Democrat of New Jersey, who is a close friend of Dr. Melgenâs. Last year, Mr. Menendez himself became a target of investigation after the senator intervened on behalf of Dr. Melgen with federal officials and took flights on his private jet. Another physician, Dr. Asad Qamar, an interventional cardiologist in Ocala, Fla., has sent at least $250,000 in donations over the last decade to the political campaigns of President Obama and other prominent Democrats; he has become the target of scrutiny related to cardiovascular treatment centers he runs in Central Florida. Dr. Qamar was paid more than $18 million in 2012, making him and Dr. Melgen by far the largest payment recipients nationwide, according to the data. A pathologist from New Jersey received the third largest Medicare reimbursement, $12.6 million. (more at above url)
I agree we should get big money out of politics. Too bad the Supreme Court is screwing it up big time with their flawed "interpretation" of the Constitution. As for the cheating doctors, hospitals and insurance companies, massive fines and prison time.
I can agree with you on this. One of the biggest issues in U.S. politics is the big money in politics (e.g. as per Citizens United, etc.). The system needs to be reformed to limit large contributions and 'dark money' - on both sides of the aisle.
Looks like we've actually found a few doctors who've got reasons to love Onazicare. Wonder why that is...
While there is no question that special interests rule the day in DC, I doubt we could ever really get rid of this problem. Take my current hometown of Charlotte - we just lost a mayor. The problem is caused by a government that spends too much damn money on things and passes too many damn laws and regulations. That's why the special interests are there, because they can turn their millions of dollars of lobbying ca$h into billions of dollars in profit$. It doesn't matter what laws and regulations are passed, it doesn't matter who goes to jail. Witness the fantastic success of the "War on Drugs" (lmao) for just one example. Laws and regulations do not stop greed. Reduce our government to something more along the lines of what the founders outlined and we'll slash the special interest budgets. But holy cow will the voters be POed. Any politician dumb enough to do that will be promptly unelected. Somebody else will come along with a giant shovel and offer to dig into the treasury - and BANG, he'll be a shoe in. Naw, we're screwed. Better to join the special interests. Find some way to get a trotter or two in the trough in DC before this circus ends.
Of course not. The earliest human writings, carved into rock or splattered in blood on cave walls, include complaints about money influencing government.
The problem is if you try to eliminate "money", you just give greater power to those who don't need money, ie incumbents, the media, rich candidates. etc. Why is it acceptable for the left wing media to bombard us with nonstop propaganda but an outrage for some successful individuals, like the Koch brothers, to try to get their view across? Why is it a problem for a company to contribute money to a candidate or PAC but it is ok for a company that happens to own a newspaper or TV network to give hundreds of millions in in kind contributions through editorials and slanted news coverage? Don't be naive. These campaign finance laws are mainly designed to insulate incumbents from messy criticism and make it tough for challengers to be competitive.
"The left wing media"... first of all, the media looks pretty right wing, to me. Second, they are for-profit enterprises, so where is the money coming from?
The problem is UNLIMITED money from the very rich is turning our country into an Oligarchy where the politicians from both parties merely do the bidding of the wealthy. Before some recent court rulings and other changes, the U.S. had a system with better control over donations. This allowed the middle-class to have financial voice with candidates with donations of $100, $500, $2000, etc. - these were meaningful to a candidate because reasonable limits were placed on the size of money being poured into politics and 'dark money' (529s, etc.) was not allowed. Now the entire system is broken and we are spinning downhill at a rapid pace where only a few ultra-rich voices have any influence on U.S. politics.