Lobbying to 'tweak' health reform bills heats up

NewsGuard 100/100 Score
"In Washington, there are two ways to wage legislative war: fight to kill and fight to tweak," the Washington Post reports. "With a growing sense that Democrats may have the votes to pass health-care reform, many participants are now attempting to shape the components of landmark legislation rather than to defeat it." Lobbyists, corporate executives and lawmakers say the time has come for last-ditch efforts to influence the health bill, with a Senate-wide draft bill expected to go to the budget office for a cost estimate Monday. "We're entering the final stage, and everyone is maneuvering to get the best possible deal," said Kaiser Family Foundation president Drew Altman (Connolly, 10/26).

Lobbyists such as Ken Raske, president and CEO of the Greater New York Hospital Association, have been working towards this moment all year. Raske's group has spent more than $1 million on lobbying Washington in 2009, The Hill reports. A top fundraiser for the Democratic Party, he's "collected donations worth more than $152,000 for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) in September alone, according to the latest FEC report"  (Bogardus, 10/25).

Others may not feel they are getting a fair hearing. The Washington Post reports in a separate story: " The chief lobbyist for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce alleged Sunday that there is a White House campaign of 'invectives' and 'name-calling' against his organization, and said the business group is eager to ignore the heated rhetoric." President Obama's anti-lobbyist rhetoric - part of his campaign platform - has led to clashes with Washington groups (Shear, 10/26).


Kaiser Health NewsThis article was reprinted from khn.org with permission from the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation. Kaiser Health News, an editorially independent news service, is a program of the Kaiser Family Foundation, a nonpartisan health care policy research organization unaffiliated with Kaiser Permanente.

Comments

The opinions expressed here are the views of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of News Medical.
Post a new comment
Post

While we only use edited and approved content for Azthena answers, it may on occasions provide incorrect responses. Please confirm any data provided with the related suppliers or authors. We do not provide medical advice, if you search for medical information you must always consult a medical professional before acting on any information provided.

Your questions, but not your email details will be shared with OpenAI and retained for 30 days in accordance with their privacy principles.

Please do not ask questions that use sensitive or confidential information.

Read the full Terms & Conditions.