AMA major force in federal lobbying

A new report finds that health care continued to lead all industries in lobbying expenditures during the second half of 2000.

By Amy Snow Landa, AMNews staff. Oct. 15, 2001.

Washington -- Physician groups and the health care industry as a whole continued to pour money into their federal lobbying efforts during the last six months of 2000 -- offering fresh evidence of the high stakes involved in the debate over health care issues such as Medicare and managed care reform.

A key participant in those struggles, the AMA continued to rank among the top spenders on federal lobbying during the last six months of 2000, according to a report issued in September by the Political Money Line, an online service that tracks money in politics.

The report finds the AMA spent $8.76 million on federal lobbying during the six-month period -- making it the third-highest spender among organizations that seek to influence Congress and the executive branch.

Only the Business Roundtable and General Electric Co. paid more for lobbying than the AMA. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce ranked fourth.

"There is so much that needs to be lobbied for on behalf of physicians and patients," explained Yank D. Coble Jr., MD, president-elect of the AMA.

For example, the AMA continues to lobby vigorously in support of a federal patients' bill of rights, said Dr. Coble, "whereas a wide variety of groups, including the largest funders on the list, are all lobbying against us."

The top-ranked Business Roundtable has been a major opponent of the AMA-backed patients' bill of rights legislation. The association of corporate CEOs insists that the measure would "tear apart the fabric of the health care system" by expanding patients' rights to sue their health insurers for harm caused by the delay or denial of medical care. [...]