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WASHINGTON — A majority of the donations made to the National Alliance
on Mental Illness, one of the nation’s most influential disease
advocacy groups, have come from drug makers in recent years, according
to Congressional investigators.
The alliance, known as NAMI, has long been criticized for coordinating
some of its lobbying efforts with drug makers and for pushing
legislation that also benefits industry.
Last spring, Senator Charles E. Grassley, Republican of Iowa, sent
letters to the alliance and about a dozen other influential disease
and patient advocacy organizations asking about their ties to drug and
device makers. The request was part of his investigation into the drug
industry’s influence on the practice of medicine.
In my estimation, most members of NAMI are not affluent-level
citizens; and they are attempting to lobby state legislatures for the
best side-affect-free medications available, based on their own hard
experience, for Medicaid or Medicare reimbursement.
Face it, most have chronic disease for which they seek medications to
which they can remain compliant.