Health Insurers & Drug Companies Contributed $5.5 Million to Top Senate and House Recipients

According to the nonprofit, nonpartisan Consumer Watchdog, “health insurers and pharmaceutical manufacturers contributed $5.5 million to the top 10 recipients in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives during the last two election cycles.”

The Consumer Watchdog’s study found that:

• Health insurers contributed $2.2 million to the top 10 members of the U.S. Senate and House.
• Drug manufacturers contributed $3.3 million to the top 10 recipients in each legislative body.
• Health insurers and drug manufacturers contributed $24,220,976 to the current members of Congress in the last two election cycles.

Biggest Beneficiaries - Democrats

• Senator Max Baucus, a democrat from Montana and chairman of the Senate Finance Committee received $413,000 in campaign contributions from the pharmaceutical and health insurance industries than any other current Democratic member of the House or Senate, receiving $183,750 from health insurance companies and $229,020 from drug companies. Baucus has become the leading architect of health care reform in Congress, playing a leading role in the debate over healthcare reform.
• House Rep. Earl Pomeroy (N.D.) received contributions from the insurance sector ($104,000)
• House Rep. John D. Dingell (Mich.) took in $180,000 from drug companies.

Biggest Beneficiaries - Republicans

• Senator  John McCain (R-Ariz.), with $546,000
• Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), with $425,000
• House Minority Leader John A. Boehner (R-Ohio), with $257,000
• House Minority Whip  Eric Cantor (R-Va.), with $249,000

Powerful Lobbies Influence on Healthcare Reform
According to the Washington Post’s Dan Eggen, “the health-care sector has long ranked with financial services and energy interests as one of the most powerful political forces in Washington, and it spent nearly $1 billion on lobbying in the past two years alone. As momentum moves toward overhauling health care, major medical groups have stepped up their lobbying and campaign activities while shifting money and attention to newly empowered Democrats, according to federal records and industry experts.”

Carmen Balber, Director of Consumer Watchdog’s Washington D.C. office, states that “when the engineer of the health care reform train is getting more fuel from the HMOs and drug companies that any other Democrat on Capitol Hill, you have to wonder who is really driving the train and whether average Americans will be tied to the tracks. HMO and drug company money will sour the President’s plan for affordable, accessible health care if these industries’ backers on Capitol Hill allow their financial interests to drive the debate.”

Why should you care? The Consumer Watchdog’s study will help you understand how the health insurance and pharmaceutical industries influence healthcare reform and policy through their campaign contributions. These lobbies back key Senate and House democrats and republicans that are expected to play a key part legislative process as healthcare reform is formed the Senate and House.

Sources

• “Health Sector Has Donated Millions to Lawmakers” by Dan Eggen, Washington Post Staff Writer, Sunday, March 8, 2009
• “Health Insurers & Drug Companies Contributed $5.5 Million to Top 10 Senate and House Recipients Since 2005″
• Download the full analysis of Consumer Watchdog’s Contribution Summary - This spreadsheet allows the user to rank members of the House and Senate by the level of contributions they received from each industry. Click here to view.

Health Insurance & Pharmaceutical Manufacturers in Healthcare Delivery System