Public Citizen Says Advocacy Group a ‘Hired Gun’ of Drug Industry

The consumer group Public Citizen this week criticized the United Seniors Association, a senior advocacy group that is backing the GOP-sponsored Medicare prescription drug benefit that the House passed last month, calling the group a "hired gun" of the pharmaceutical industry, the Charleston Gazette reports. Public Citizen said the association, which has sponsored television and radio advertising "praising" the House Medicare drug benefit plan, is supported by the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America. "The United Seniors Association has acted as a shill for major industries, especially pharmaceutical companies, seeking to influence federal policy and elections," Frank Clemente, director of Public Citizen's Congress Watch, said. PhRMA provided $4.6 million of the $9.6 million that the seniors' association has spent on ads since May, the Gazette reports. "By concealing its identity behind this seniors group, the pharmaceutical industry is using the elderly to push a plan that provides weak coverage while protecting the huge profits of drug companies," Clemente added. United Seniors Association CEO Charlie Jarvis said, "We are profoundly disappointed that some ... have chosen to engage in a dishonest attack on the United Seniors Association, whose top priority is getting Medicare prescription drug coverage this year" (Messina, Charleston Gazette, 7/17).