7/5/11 3:22 PMLobbyists swarm capitol to influence health reform | iWatch News
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Tally of 4,525 Means Eight Lobbyists for Each
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By Jo e Eat o n a n d M.B . P ell 9: 01 am, Feb ru ary 2 4 , 2
010
When President Barack Obama meets with
Congressional leadership on Thursday to jump start
stalled health reform efforts, industry lobbyists will
not be in the room. But if the successful 2009
lobbying effort to influence health reform legislation
is any indication, special interests will be well
represented.
0 A Center for Public Integrity analysis of Senate
lobbying disclosure forms shows that more than
1,750 companies and organizations hired about
4,525 lobbyists — eight for each member of
Congress — to influence health reform bills in 2009.
Pri nt
E-mail
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The list of companies and organizations that worked to put their imprint on legislation is diverse, ranging
from health care interests and advocacy groups to giant corporations, small businesses, American Indian
tribes, religious groups, and universities.
Among industries, 207 hospitals lined up to lobby, followed by 105 insurance companies and 85
manufacturing companies. Trade, advocacy, and professional organizations trumped them all with 745
registered groups that lobbied on health reform bills, illustrating the common Washington strategy of
special interests banding together to pool money and increase their influence.
Among the most visible organizations in the halls of Congress, AARP deployed 56 in-house lobbyists and
two from outside firms to work the issue on behalf of its members. The pro-business U.S. Chamber of
Commerce deployed 47 lobbyists, all but eight from outside firms. The corporate titans who direct the
Business Roundtable deployed 40, five from outside firms, and the American Medical Association had 33,
11 from outside firms. The data also revealed that the roster of groups trying to mold legislation went far
beyond corporate and health care interests to include such unlikely entities as Americans for the Arts, and
the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions.
Despite the recession, 2009 was a boom year for influence peddling overall with business and advocacy
groups shelling out $3.47 billion for lobbyists to represent them on all kinds of issues, according to the
nonprofit group Center for Responsive Politics.
Much of that money went to fight the health reform battle, according to Center for Public Integrity data.
Businesses and organizations that lobbied on health reform spent more than $1.2 billion on their overall
lobby efforts. The exact amount they spent on health reform is difficult to quantify because most health
care lobbyists also worked on other issues, and lobby disclosure rules do not require businesses to
report how much they paid on each issue.
From an industry perspective, it was money well spent. A close look at the health reform bills that
passed the House and Senate show lobbyists were apparently effective at blocking provisions like a
robust government-run insurance program, and blunting the effect of cost-cutting measures on health
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7/5/11 3:22 PMLobbyists swarm capitol to influence health reform | iWatch News
Pop ula r on iW a tc h
care companies.
An
Li v e c h a t : W o r s e n i n g c o n d i t i o n s
a t mi l i t ar y b as e s c h o o l s
Effect ive Gr o u p
The lobbying details come as President Obama prepares to meet with Republicans on health reform.
Obama’s own blueprint, released on Monday, combines elements of both the House and Senate bills. To
pass, any bill would need to attract Republican support or use budget reconciliation rules to avoid filibuster
in the Senate.
Some Republicans argue that the current health reform bills need to be scrapped. But many powerful
health industry lobbies, which would profit from expanded health insurance coverage, disagree.
U.S . law maker s fr u s t r at ed b y
lack of answ er s about Google S tr
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Obama administration barely takes
notice of Google Wi-spy incident
“Clearly we have hit a bump in the road, but we think it is no less important to get something done,” said
Cecil Wilson, president-elect of the American Medical Association (AMA), which spent $20 million overall
in 2009 lobbying Congress on behalf of doctors. “There is a lot of good health system reform in both of
these pieces of legislation that we can build on if we could just get around the partisan bickering.”
The AMA succeeded in molding House and Senate bills to make sure cuts would not come out of
doctors’ pockets, Wilson said. The AMA helped kill a $300 yearly fee for doctors who participate in
Medicare or Medicaid, a tax on cosmetic surgery, five percent Medicare payment cuts to the top 10
percent of Medicare billers, and Medicare payment cuts for primary care physicians. Each was included
in the initial Senate bill, but struck from the final Senate version.
Despite the victories, the group isn’t ready to pledge support for health reform bills. Wilson said the AMA
will not endorse any legislation unless Congress scraps mandated payment cuts of more than $200 billion
over 10 years in the government’s Medicare program for the elderly. The cuts are part of Congressional
action in 1997 to rein in Medicare program costs, but have never gone into effect. Instead, Congress has
repeatedly blocked the cuts, now set to take effect on March 1.
“We cannot support health system reform without that permanent fix,” Wilson said.
Th e milit ar y c h ild r en left b eh in d :
Dec r ep it s c h o o ls , b r o ken p r o
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While parents sacrifice, children endure
deterioration and disrepair
Li m o u s i n e l i b e r a l s ? N u m
b e r o f go ver nment -o w ned limo
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The number of limousines owned by the
federal government has jumped 73 percent
in the first two years of the
Obama administration
AN ALY S I S : I t 's t ime t o
et outr aged
He a l t h L o b b y i s t s D o u b l e d b y E n d o f 2 0 0 9
The number of lobbyists working Congress on health reform more than doubled throughout 2009 from
more than 1,400 in the first three months of the year to nearly 3,700 in the final quarter, when attention
focused on the Senate bill.
“They cut it. They chopped it. They reconstructed it,” Julian Zelizer, a Princeton University professor of
public affairs, said about health reform lobbying. “They didn’t bury it. I don’t think they wanted to.”
The lack of serious cost controls in House and Senate bills are a direct result of health industry lobbying
efforts, Zelizer said.
The American Hospital Association, for example, supports expanding coverage to the House bill’s level of
96 percent of legal residents, but it lobbied against expanding Medicaid eligibility to levels prescribed in
the House bill, which would hinder hospital profits. It is also lobbying to revise or delay Medicare payment
cuts and patient readmission penalties.
The hospital group, along with the Chamber of Commerce and Pharmaceutical Research and
Manufacturers of America, declined the Center’s request for an on-the-record interview about their
lobby efforts. In a statement, the American Hospital Association said members’ concerns “need to be
addressed
next ›
g
America's dysfunctional health care
system is responsible for countless
horror stories, but many folks aren't
paying attention
Pop ula r on Fa c e b ook
Hospitals, insurers, pharmaceutical manufacturers and advocacy groups are also withholding final
support. Most pledged support to health care reform in principle while working privately through
lobbyists to protect their industries.
1 2
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campaign contributions that it
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7/5/11 3:22 PMLobbyists swarm capitol to influence health reform | iWatch News
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