Reform Rodeo

Photo by David Monniaux

1. Getting Up to Speed: Kaiser Health News breaks down where reform currently stands now that the Senate has passed their version of the Bill.
2. Multimedia Perspective: A thorough and well-done interactive timeline of U.S. Health Care Reform helps to provide some much-needed context. Clicking on the event gives a synopsis as well as a link to an NEJM piece on the event from that era.
3. No Snow(e) in Sight: Sam Stein notes how Olympia Snowe–a Senator who not long ago garnered the attention of all health reform followers–rationalized her “Nay” by questioning the Bill’s constitutionality.
   1. Speaking of the constitutionality of the Senate’s bill: As we have noted on this site earlier, questions of constitutionality pervade the dialogue. For those whose interest has been piqued, bloggers at the Volokh Conspiracy have penned a number of pieces on the issue, here, here, and here.
4. Senate Bill’s impact on health insurance companies: Bob Laszewski discusses the Bill’s impact on insurance company–channeling the skepticism of non-profit Harvard Pilgrim’s CEO Bruce Bullen.
5. Impending Car Crash?: Michael Goozner reiterates his view that the tax on “Cadillac” plans is the biggest issue facing health reform.
6. In case you missed it (an oldie but goodie): A Health Reform Watch article on the impact of lobbyists included in the Wikepedia entries for “Health Care Reform, United States” and “Health Insurance.” Which, now that a bill has passed in the Senate, begs the question: do you think those lobbyists might be in line for a bonus?

Top 20 Lobby Expenditures Equals Over 1 Billion Dollars in the Last 2 1/2 Years

Rembrandt van Rijn, Christ Driving the Money-changers from the Temple (1626)

The Wall St Journal’s Health Blog recently ran a piece on health reform lobbying using data from the Center for Responsive Politics. This link will give you Lobby’s top 20 spenders, many of which have major interests in the outcome of the health reform debate.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce (which opposes a Public Option) led the field with $26.2 million this year. PhRMA spent $13.1 million, Pfizer $11.7, BC/BS $9.5, AARP $9.4, the AMA $8.5, American Hospital Association $8.5, the Business Roundtable $7.4, Eli Lilly $7.

Remember, those are all just half-year numbers. The numbers over the last few years for the 9 companies and organizations listed above are worth taking a look at.

The numbers below are rounded, you can access exacts (and a nifty graph of money spent since 1998) by clicking on each company or organization.

Interestingly enough, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, at $26.2 million for the half year thus far is actually on pace this year to spend less than last year (2008: $91.7 million) and about even with the year before (2007: $53 million plus change).

PhRMA, with $13.1 million thus far, spent $20.2 million last year, and $22.7 million the year before.

Pfizer, $11.7 million thus far, spent nearly $12.2 million in the whole of last year, and $13.8 million the year before. But perhaps the additional spending this year may be, at least in part, attributable to antitrust concerns regarding the acquisition of Wyeth.

Blue Cross & Blue Shield has spent $9.5 million thus far this year, spent $15.5 million last year, and a little more than $10 million in 2007.

AARP has spent $9.4 million this year, $27.9 million in 2008, and $19.5 million in 2007.

The AMA has spent $8.5 thus far in 2009, $20.7 million in 2008, and $22.1 million in 2007.

The American Hospital Association has also spent $8.5 million this year, but spent $20.1 million last year, and close to $20 million the year before.

The Business Roundtable has spent $7.4 million this year, $13.3 million last, and $10.2 million in 2007.

Finally, Eli Lilly has spent $7 million thus far this year, $12.5 million in 2008, and $4.3 million in 2007.

Importantly, these are not per se political contributions, as those are listed separately and by party (the recent, but very significant rise in contributions to Democrats is in itself rather revealing of the power= money equation) by clicking on the links to the organizations above and then clicking “Major Political Contributor.”

As we’ve posted before, in the first quarter of this year, $1.4 million per day was said to have been spent on healthcare lobbying.

The 9 companies and organizations above account for:

2009: $101.3 million

2008: $234.1 million

2007: $175.6 million

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Total= $511 million, 2 ½ years.

And in case you were wondering,

the total spent by the entire Top Twenty on Lobbying was:

2009: $205 million

2008: $451.7 million

2007: $351.5 million
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Total: $1,000,800,000

Or, over a Billion Dollars in 2 and a half years.

That’s simply a lot of money. And the phrase “Return on Investment” immediately comes to mind. Presumably there is one, or why would they persist? One of the finer things that one can say about someone is that they “Speak Truth to Power.” Speaking money, however,  seems the preferred means of communication.