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August 23, 2005
Medicare Law Prompts a Rush for Lobbyists
Remember how Republicans and conservatives fought the Clinton health care program tooth and nail because it would lead to bigger government and more government rationing of health care? Remember how the Republican Congress passed, and the Republican president proudly signed, a bill adding prescription drug coverage to Medicare?
Well, now, according to the New York Times:
The new Medicare law has touched off explosive growth in lobbying by the health care industry, whose spending on advocacy here far exceeds that of consumer groups and other industries like defense and banking.
Almost every week the federal government issues new rules or guidelines to carry out the 2003 law, which provides a drug benefit starting in January. To keep track of the new rules and to decipher their meaning is a full-time job for hundreds of lawyers and lobbyists, who regularly seek changes advantageous to their clients. . . .
"You see a real surge in health care lobbying because that's where the money is," said Frederick H. Graefe, a lobbyist for hospitals and makers of medical equipment. "Twenty years ago the defense industry was dominant and had the most lobbyists, the big players. Now it's health care."
Last year alone, the health care industry spent $325 million - more than any other sector - in its efforts to influence Congress and federal agencies, according to Political Money Line, a nonpartisan group that studies reports filed with Congress by lobbyists and their clients.
You can be sure that both parties are getting in on the act, too.
John E. McManus, who formed his own lobbying firm after working for Republican members of the House Ways and Means Committee, received a total of $620,000 last year from the American Medical Association, the Advanced Medical Technology Association, the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America and several drug companies, including Merck and Genentech. Mr. McManus can help them navigate the new Medicare law because, as a Congressional aide, he helped write it.
On the other side of the political spectrum, David H. Nexon, a health policy adviser to Senator Edward M. Kennedy for more than two decades, stepped down in February to become senior executive vice president of the Advanced Medical Technology Association, the lobby for makers of medical devices like Medtronic and Guidant.
Charles M. Brain, director of legislative affairs for President Clinton, reported that he got $240,000 last year for representing the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America. Stephen J. Ricchetti, deputy chief of staff in the Clinton White House, lobbies for Eli Lilly & Company, Novartis and Pfizer.
And even better:
The Generic Pharmaceutical Association has retained Mr. [Chris] Jennings and Mark W. Isakowitz to lobby for legislation to increase the use of generic drugs. As a White House aide, Mr. Jennings helped devise the Clinton plan for universal health insurance. As a lobbyist at the National Federation of Independent Business, Mr. Isakowitz, a Republican, helped defeat the Clinton plan.
And conservatives continue to believe the GOP really stands for smaller government.
Posted by Mike Tennant at August 23, 2005 11:31 AM
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