Drug, Device Makers Spend $74 Mln to Lobby in '97, Study Says
Bloomberg News
December 3, 1998, 12:01 a.m. ET
Washington, Dec. 2 (Bloomberg) -- Pharmaceutical and medical
device manufacturers spent $74 million last year, more than any
other industry, to lobby Congress and the Clinton administration
on issues that included seeking speedier marketing approvals of
their products, a report says.
Insurers were the second highest spenders, investing $66
million as it fought HMO patient protection legislation backed by
physicians and consumer groups, according to the study by the
Center for Responsive Politics, a non-profit research group that
tracks the influence of money in elections and policy making.
The big spending paid off. Insurers succeeded in defeating
the HMO legislation, while the pharmaceutical and medical device
industries won sweeping changes in how the Food and Drug
Administration approves medical products for sale to the public.
''These people would not be spending this kind of money if
they weren't getting results,'' said Larry Makinson, executive
director of the Center for Responsive Politics. ''They've been
getting a pretty good dividend on their investment.''
To be sure, not everyone in the industry came out winners in
the last Congress. The American Medical Association, the nation's
largest doctor group, spent $17.3 million on lobbying in 1997,
more than any other organization, the report says. The doctors
lost their battle with the insurers for HMO reforms that would
have given patients a wider choice of physicians and increased
access to health services.
AMA Success
Still, the AMA succeeded in 1997 in minimizing the hit that
doctors took in the balanced-budget law, which cut the growth of
the Medicare government health insurance program for the elderly
by $115 billion over five years.
The growth of Medicare physician payments was reduced by
$5.3 billion over five years, compared to a $40 billion hit taken
by hospitals for overnight and outpatient care.
Philip Morris Cos. Inc. outspent all other companies on
lobbying in 1997, logging $15.8 million in expenses as the
tobacco industry tried to contain efforts to further regulate and
tax tobacco, the report says. The industry defeated sweeping
tobacco legislation, but was forced to settle for an increase in
cigarette excise taxes to pay to provide more children with
health insurance.
Pfizer Inc. was the biggest spender in pharmaceutical
industry, racking up $10 million in lobbying expenses last year.
About $5.5 million was spent on lobbying at the federal
level while the rest went for lobbying activities at the state
level, said Pfizer spokesman Bob Fauteux.
Pfizer's Issues
Among the many issues targeted by Pfizer were FDA reform and
trade legislation that the company believes will lead to
increased protection of its products from being ripped off in
other countries, Fauteux said.
''We believe new (trade) agreements will lead to improved
intellectual property protection on a global basis,'' he said.
The company also lobbied in the last Congress on coverage of
its drugs by government health insurance programs, including its
blockbuster impotence treatment, Viagra. Specifically, the
company successfully fought efforts by congressional
appropriators to limit Medicaid coverage of Viagra to prostate
cancer patients with impotence, Fauteux said.
Other drug makers spent heavily on lobbying as well. Merck &
Co. spent $5.1 million, Eli Lilly & Co., Bristol-Myers Squibb Co.
and Glaxo Wellcome each racked up $3.8 million in lobbying costs,
the report says. Both Glaxo and SmithKline were embroiled in a
lobbying battlen that ended up allowing Medicare coverage of oral
anti-nausea cancer drugs made by both companies.
Schering-Plough Corp., which has been trying to win changes
in patent laws that could help it win extensions on the patent
for its top-selling allergy drug, Claritin, spent $2.7 million on
lobbying in 1997, the report says.
Informed Lawmakers
Pfizer spokesman Fauteux, along with a spokesman for the
pharmaceutical makers trade group, said drug makers are one of
the most heavily regulated industries. ''We must be able to
inform lawmakers about who we are, what we do, how we do it and
the challenges we face,'' said Jeff Trewhitt, spokesman for the
Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America. ''Informed
members of Congress pass more responsible laws.''
The health insurance industry, on the other hand, is mostly
regulated by the states, not the federal government. HMOs and
other health insurers spent heavily on lobbying in the last
Congress, though, because they faced a drive to pass federal
legislation that would give consumers greater control over
coverage decisions by their insurers. The balanced-budget law
also made changes to Medicare that affected insurers, including
cuts in the growth in payments to health plans that serve senior
citizens.
The Blue Cross and Blue Shield association of health plans
spent $8.8 million on lobbying in 1997 while the Health Insurance
Association of America spent $4.8 million, according to the
Center's report. Prudential Insurance spent $2.9 million, while
Aetna Inc. spent $2 million.
Insurer Contributions
The Health Insurance Association wasn't immediately
available for comment. Earlier this year, Chip Kahn, the Health
Insurance Association's chief operating officer, said the threat
HMO legislation caused insurers to boost their contributions to
the trade group's political action committee.
Insurers providing more than health coverage faced other
major issues on Capitol Hill. The American Council on Life
Insurance was major lobbying force on the banking bill and worked
to craft compromise language concerning regulation of the bank's
sale of insurance from branches.
The council spent $4.9 million on lobbying in 1997, the
Center's report says. While the banking bill died, ''it seemed to
have a real chance of making it across the finish line'' in the
last Congress, said Phil Anderson, the council's vice president
for federal affairs. ''That consumed an awful amount time and
resources,'' he said.
--Paul Heldman (202) 624-1842, with reporting by Rob Wells / mfr |
