60 Minutes |
Nowhere on earth are prescription drug prices higher than in the United States and our lead story sheds light on the relationship between drug-industry lobbyists and Congress that critics says keeps those prices up.

http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/60minutes/main3415.shtml

Correspondent Steve Kroft’s report tells of lawmakers twisting their comrades’ arms for votes to pass a bill favorable to the drug industry, and then how some of those same politicians take lucrative jobs in the industry’s lobbying firms – a lobby that has spent $800 million over the past eight years on political campaign contributions and expenses. The bill at the center of this report, the Medicare prescription drug bill, is one of the most expensive ever put before the House. It extends limited prescription drug coverage to 41 million Americans, but prohibits the government from negotiating the best prices for drugs. According to politicians interviewed, it was written, in part, by drug industry lobbyists. Lobbying has always been a part of Washington politics, but for one House member, the night the bill passed hit a new low. “It was horrible,” Rep. Walter Jones (R-N.C.) tells Kroft. “We had a good friend from Michigan, Nick Smith (formerly R-Mich.) and they threatened to work against his son who wanted to run for his seat when he retired,” recalls Jones. “I saw…a member of the House, a lady, crying when they came around her, trying to get her to change her vote.”

These stories and the rising cost of presidential campaigning from Andy Rooney on this Sunday’s 60 Minutes.