LOBBYING: Health Interests Begin Focusing on States
Large health care interests have begun lobbying on the state level in an attempt to influence the outcome of the current debate over health reform, the New York Times reports.
According to a study by the National Institute on Money in State Politics, health care providers contributed about $102 million to state political campaigns across the U.S. during the 2008 election, surpassing the $89 million spent on the federal level and contributed by the same donors. Similarly, the drug industry spent more than $20 million in state political contributions in 2008.
In more than one dozen state constitutional amendments to block proposed overhaul measures. For example, the Florida legislature is debating a proposed amendment that would symbolically block much of the federal health reform legislation on the grounds that it supersedes individual liberty. Nearly all of the amendment’s 42 co-sponsors — all Republicans — were recipients of outsized campaign contributions from major health care interests, with a total of $765,000 in 2008, according to the study.
Supporters of such amendments argue that they want to send Congress a message and lay the foundation for future fights over health reform measures that are expected to be left to the states, such as proposed “opt in” or “opt out” decisions regarding health insurance exchanges. However, advocates of health reform say the depth of the health industry’s financial contributions and lobbying efforts shows the difficulty of leaving health reform decisions to individual states, which have varying campaign finance and ethics rules (Kirkpatrick, New York Times, 12/29).
– compiled by Brittany Hackett
