The door between federal health agencies and pharmaceutical companies is constantly rotating, a new study uncovers.
Over half of government appointees to both the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services leave their positions for industry jobs, a Health Affairs published study determined. Additionally, almost one-third of government appointees to the Department of Health and Human Services go on to take jobs in the private industry, The Center Square reports.
This means the employees that make up our government health regulatory agencies are the same people who move on to profit from the laws they impose.
From the other direction, 15% of appointees to the HHS between 2004 and 2020 came directly from working for a private company in the health industry. This means the employees that make up the monstrous Big Pharma system go on to create the health regulations Americans are forced to abide by every day.
What a cycle.
"Although there are understandable reasons for people to move between the public and private sectors, the study notes that such a revolving door could make government agencies more vulnerable to pro-industry bias," according to the study.
They're all one and the same at the end of the day, as the study suggests.
A new Netflix documentary called "Painkiller" exposes this complicated relationship between government health regulators and pharmaceutical executives. The short series dives into the tragic opioid crisis, specifically Purdue Pharma's dangerously addictive drug OxyContin. While dramatized for entertainment, the series shines a light on the bribery tactics Big Pharma representatives used when pitching OxyContin for approval to the FDA.
The show features the shady business dealings between Purdue and FDA official Curtis Wright, who was tasked with authorizing the drug. Despite his initial concerns about the drug's scientific data, Wright approved Oxcontin in 1995. By 1998, Wright was working for Purdue with a $400,000 first-year salary. Today, Purdue Pharma is undergoing a rebrand amid bankruptcy, while the family defends its product in court. The drug is still on the market as America continues a deadly struggle with opioid addiction.
Our government health agencies are indeed vulnerable to Big Pharma priorities. It's time our elected officials recognize this revolving door and the major risks associated with it. While it's understandable that government health regulators possess the proper knowledge to hold roles in the private health industry, it's incomprehensible why the American people should be expected to trust their judgments.
Convention of States is on a mission to place restraints on Washington by calling a state-held Article V convention. By putting power constraints on the federal government, we can return power back to the states and the people, where it's better managed and protected from 'revolving door' opportunists.
To support our efforts to rein in Washington, D.C., please add your name to the petition below.
