Fox & Friends Hosts Palmisano To Attack Health Care Reform

Fox Hosts Palmisano To Attack Health Care Reform: “This Law Is A Failure. This Is A Burdensome Law” That Is “Going To Destroy The Practice Of Medicine.” On the May 18 edition of Fox News' Fox & Friends, Doocy interviewed Palmisano about elements of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPAC) and health care waivers. During the segment, Palmisano claimed that “this law is a failure. This is a burdensome law. It's top heavy, and it price fixes and it's going to destroy the practice of medicine.” Palmisano further attacked regulations on the health care industry, the expansion of Medicaid to include a greater portion of the population living in poverty, and the granting of temporary waivers to companies and labor unions. [Fox News, Fox & Friends, 5/18/11]

But Fox Did Not Disclose That Palmisano Worked For Anti-Health Care Group With Ties To Right-Wing Lobbying Firm

Doocy Identified Palmisano As “A Lawyer...A Doctor...An Author” And “Former American Medical Association President.” In introducing Palmisano, Doocy identified him as “former American Medical Association president Dr. Donald J. Palmisano. He's also the author of a new book called, On Leadership: Essentials for personal, political and business success.” At the conclusion of the interview, Doocy repeated: “He's a lawyer. He's a doctor. He's an author. Donald J. Palmisano, we thank you very much.” [Fox News, Fox & Friends, 5/18/11]

But, Palmisano Also Lead An Anti-Health Care Reform Group Coalition To Protect Patients' Rights. Fox & Friends did not disclose that anti-health care reform organization called the Coalition to Protect Patients' Rights (CPPR) is led by Palmisano. According to the CPPR website:

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act removed much of the medical decision making from the patient and physician and placed it in the hands of government bureaucrats. In an attempt to cover more people, it failed to consider the quality of care they would end up with or the impact that the changes would have on those who already had insurance that they were happy with.

We at the Coalition to Protect Patients' Rights will continue to fight for patients. The Coalition will focus on our health care system's need for meaningful medical malpractice reform, a permanent fix to the flawed “SGR” formula, an end to the dangerous practice of therapeutic substitution and to limit damage caused by severe cuts to Medicare including those resulting from the flawed Medicare Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB). [Coalition to Protect Patients' Rights, accessed 5/18/11; Coalition to Protect Patients' Rights, Meet Dr. Donald Palmisano, accessed 5/18/11]

Think Progress: CPPR Is A “Front Group” Managed By Right-Wing Lobbying Group DCI. On July 28, 2009, ThinkProgress reported:

“The new anti-health reform front group known as the Coalition to Protect Patients' Rights, is being managed by the lobbying firm known as the DCI Group. After being contacted by ThinkProgress this afternoon about its sponsorship of CPPR's press conference last week, DCI Group staffers acknowledged that they coordinate PR for the front group.” ThinkProgress further reported:

Tom Synhorst, a former staffer to Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Bob Dole, joined fellow right-wing operatives Doug Goodyear and Tim Hyde to form DCI Group in 1996. The firm quickly flourished working for the tobacco industry, coordinating a sophisticated astroturf campaign to build public opposition to tobacco regulations. Ironically, before helping to manage this “patients' rights” campaign, DCI founded “Smokers' Rights” groups across the country for the tobacco lobby. Indeed, DCI has specialized in manufacturing “grassroots” support -- using telemarketers, PR events, and letter writing campaigns -- to achieve policy results for narrow corporate interests.

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CPPR is led by Donald Palmisano, a tort reform consultant. Although the American Medical Association has endorsed the House health reform bill with a public option, Palmisano has been using his title as a former AMA president to smear reform. [ThinkProgress, 7/28/09]

Think Progress: DCI Group Previously Managed Groups Attacking Dems, Promoting GOP, Corporate Interests. ThinkProgress further reported that the DCI Group was involved in campaigns on behalf of the pharmaceutical company to oppose “House legislation that would permit the reimportation of FDA-approved drugs from Canada and elsewhere,” to promote President Bush's “call to privatize Social Security,” “to smear John Kerry and his war record” and to mock “Al Gore and global warming.” [ThinkProgress, 7/28/09]