[Ip-health] Obama Health & Technology commitments

[Sarah Rimmington]

These relevant ip-health commitments are now posted on www.whitehouse.gov

1. The Agenda: Health care:  http://www.whitehouse.gov/agenda/health_care/
[snip] Make Health Insurance Work for People and Businesses -- Not Just
Insurance and Drug Companies. ...

Reduce Costs and Save a Typical American Family up to $2,500 as reforms
phase in:

    * Lower drug costs by allowing the importation of safe medicines
from other developed countries, increasing the use of generic drugs in
public programs, and taking on drug companies that block cheaper generic
medicines from the market. ...

The Obama-Biden plan will promote public health. It will require
coverage of preventive services, including cancer screenings, and
increase state and local preparedness for terrorist attacks and natural
disasters. [snip]

2. From The Agenda: Technology http://www.whitehouse.gov/agenda/technology/

[snip] President Obama and Vice President Biden understand the immense
transformative power of technology and innovation and how they can
improve the lives of Americans. They will work to ensure the full and
free exchange of information through an open Internet and use technology
to create a more transparent and connected democracy. They will
encourage the deployment of modern communications infrastructure to
improve America's competitiveness and employ technology to solve our
nation's most pressing problems -- including improving clean energy,
healthcare costs, and public safety.

...

Improve America's Competitiveness

    * Promote American Businesses Abroad: Support a trade policy that
ensures our goods and services are treated fairly in foreign markets.
Fight for fair treatment of our companies abroad.
    * Invest in the Sciences: Double federal funding for basic research
over ten years, changing the posture of our federal government to one
that embraces science and technology.
    * Invest in University-Based Research: Expand research initiatives
at American colleges and universities. Provide new research grants to
the most outstanding early-career researchers in the country.
    * Make the R&D Tax Credit Permanent: Invest in a skilled research
and development workforce and technology infrastructure. Make the
Research and Development tax credit permanent so that firms can rely on
it when making decisions to invest in domestic R&D over multi-year
timeframes.
    * Ensure Competitive Markets: Foster a business and regulatory
landscape in which entrepreneurs and small businesses can thrive,
start-ups can launch, and all enterprises can compete effectively while
investors and consumers are protected against bad actors that cross the
line. Reinvigorate antitrust enforcement to ensure that capitalism works
for consumers.
    * Protect American Intellectual Property Abroad: Work to ensure
intellectual property is protected in foreign markets, and promote
greater cooperation on international standards that allow our
technologies to compete everywhere.
    * Protect American Intellectual Property at Home: Update and reform
our copyright and patent systems to promote civic discourse, innovation,
and investment while ensuring that intellectual property owners are
fairly treated.
    * Reform the Patent System: Ensure that our patent laws protect
legitimate rights while not stifling innovation and collaboration. Give
the Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) the resources to improve patent
quality and open up the patent process to citizen review to help foster
an environment that encourages innovation. Reduce uncertainty and
wasteful litigation that is currently a significant drag on innovation.
    * Restore Scientific Integrity to the White House: Restore the basic
principle that government decisions should be based on the
best-available, scientifically-valid evidence and not on ideological
predispositions.

...

Employ Science, Technology and Innovation to Solve Our Nation's Most
Pressing Problems

21st-century technology and telecommunications have flattened
communications and labor markets and have contributed to a period of
unprecedented innovation, making us more productive, connected global
citizens. By maximizing the power of technology, we can strengthen the
quality and affordability of our health care, advance climate-friendly
energy development and deployment, improve education throughout the
country, and ensure that America remains the world's leader in
technology. Barack Obama and Joe Biden will:

    * Lower Health Care Costs by Investing in Electronic Information
Technology Systems: Use health information technology to lower the cost
of health care. Invest $10 billion a year over the next five years to
move the U.S. health care system to broad adoption of standards-based
electronic health information systems, including electronic health records.
    * Invest in Climate-Friendly Energy Development and Deployment:
Invest $150 billion over the next ten years to enable American
engineers, scientists and entrepreneurs to advance the next generation
of biofuels and fuel infrastructure, accelerate the commercialization of
plug-in hybrids, promote development of commercial-scale renewable
energy, and begin the transition to a new digital electricity grid. This
investment will transform the economy and create 5 million new jobs.
    * Modernize Public Safety Networks: Spur the development and
deployment of new technologies to promote interoperability, broadband
access, and more effective communications among first responders and
emergency response systems.
    * Advance the Biomedical Research Field: Support investments in
biomedical research, as well as medical education and training in
health-related fields. Fund biomedical research, and make it more
efficient by improving coordination both within government and across
government/private/non-profit partnerships.
    * Advance Stem Cell Research: Support increased stem cell research.
Allow greater federal government funding on a wider array of stem cell
lines.



--
Sarah Rimmington
Attorney
Essential Action, Access to Medicines Project
Washington, DC
Tel: (202) 387-8030
Cell: (202) 422-2687
www.essentialaction.org/access/