Astroturf Used By Drug Companies To Kill Bill

The Baltimore Sun reports that Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) hired Washington-based lobbying firm Bonner & Associates to kill legislation that would lower the cost of prescription drugs for Maryland's Medicaid program and for lower-income residents who have no medical insurance. According to the Sun, Bonner & Associates recruited a small Michigan-based nonprofit group called the Consumer Alliance to front for PhRMA. "By joining with Bonner & Associates, the Consumer Alliance gets money and organizational help to spread its message," the Sun writes. "In exchange, PhRMA gets to hide its agenda behind a group that legislators might think is made up solely of consumers."