Health-care sector, once a critic of then-first lady's plans for reforms, now lavishing contributions on senator.
July 12 2006: 10:41 AM EDT
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- The health-care industry, once a fierce critic of then-first lady Hillary Clinton's reform plans for the sector, is now lavishing campaign contributions on the U.S. senator ahead of her expected presidential bid.
According to Center for Responsive Politics, a non-partisan group that tracks campaign finance filings, Clinton has received $781,112 in contributions from the health-care sector during the current election cycle, which makes her the No. 2 recipient of funds from that sector, behind only Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., who received $977,354.
Clinton, the only Democrat to be in the top five in total donations from the sector, is also the No. 1 senator in terms of donations from nurses and health professionals, and the No. 2 recipient of donations from employees of hospitals and nursing homes, as well as insurance companies.
The center's Web site shows that the sector is not the top contributor to Clinton. Donations from lawyers, retirees as well as Wall Street, real estate and the entertainment industries have all topped her contributions from health care. She is also the No. 1 recipient from each of those sectors.
Partly because of her expected presidential campaign, Clinton is the top recipient among members of Congress.
The New York Times reports that while there are still some doubts about her in the health-care industry, some in the industry are making contributions in case she is elected president. The newspaper reports that William R. Abrams, the executive vice president of the Medical Society of the State of New York, is one of her fundraisers in the sector, even though he is a Republican.
Frederick H. Graefe, a health-care lawyer and lobbyist in Washington for more than 20 years, told the Times in a report published Wednesday that, "People in many industries, including health care, are contributing to Senator Clinton today because they fully expect she will be the Democratic presidential nominee in 2008.
"If the usual rules apply," Mr. Graefe said, early donors will "get a seat at the table when health care and other issues are discussed."
The figures from the Center for Responsive Politics' Web site shows Clinton has she has raised $39.2 million through March 31, in the current election cycle, while her top Republican opponent, John Spencer, has raised only $1.8 million. Santorum, locked in a much tougher election this year, has raised $18.3 million, making him Congress' No. 2 recipient.
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