Amgen Got $500,000 in tax breaks to cover illegal marketing convictions.

In a recent breaking story, Amgen received a tax break while the rest of America faces increased taxes.  In a story, The Raw Story reports that Republican Senators with help from Baucus (D) were able to coerce a gift of nearly $500 million by delaying Medicare rules during the negotiations.

Despite recently pleading guilty in a major Medicare fraud case and being fined $762 million in criminal and civil penalties (the single biggest fine in history) for illegal marketing, Amgen, the world’s largest bio-technology company, just received a major gift from Congress in its “fiscal cliff” bill—a delay in Medicare price restraints on a class of drugs that includes Amgen’s profitable Sensipar. This provision is expected to cost Medicare up to $500 million over the next two years. The result is that US taxpayers will effectively be paying the majority of Amgen's fines.

Amgen has a major lobbying force in Congress with 74 lobbyists, and has deep financial and political relationships with powerful Senators including Max Baucus, Mitch McConnell, and Orrin Hatch, the leaders of the Senate Finance Committee. Additionally, Amgen employees contributed $141,000 to President Obama’s presidential campaigns.

Senators should not be financing the illegal missteps of Amgen.  The American people should consider it collusion, rather than "politics as usual".  Shareholders of Amgen should address the moral and ethical actions of its Board of Directors, while the Board of Directors should be evaluating the CEO and his role in the illegal marketing and the fines that followed.  All should be punished appropriately, rather than celebrate this windfall.

And, Senators should be protecting Medicare for those who most likely need it.  Medical and Medicaid should be protected.  And, these slimy type of activities which Senators like Orrin Hatch and Max Baucus seem to endorse should be sent to the Ethics Committee of the Senate for review.  Would it surprise anyone that both Orrin Hatch (R) and Max Baucus (D) received huge contributions from Amgen?  Could it be that both Senators Hatch and Baucus have staff who now work at Amgen, and have former Amgen staff that work for them now?  Raw Story reports this very fact and that the access was developed by the staff.

Many in the LGBT community depend on Medicaid in San Diego and those in with Medicaid in other states for their access to doctors and health care services.  Yet, these same Senators endorsed covering the illegal fines of Amgen or at least 65% of it, and are willing to continue decimating necessary safety net services in our communities.   Kaiser Health News reports that Orrin Hatch has bi-partisan support to continue capping and destroying these safety nets.  

Currently a bi-partisan group (only two senators) are leading an effort to repeal this give away.   The LA Times Report provides only two senators supporting this draft legislation.

What will our Californian Senators do about this misguided section of the Fiscal Cliff Bill?  Will it affect their decision that Amgen resides in Thousand Oaks, CA?   Let's find out.