An analysis by Fierce Healthcare identified the top 30 healthcare organizations that burned through the most cash lobbying Congress for healthcare policy changes in the second quarter.
Fourteen organizations spent more than a million dollars each, and the biggest spenders were associations representing hospitals, physicians and Medicare beneficiaries.
Federal law mandates lobbying disclosures each quarter to keep tabs on industry influence in the government. Fierce Healthcare used publicly available data to obtain estimates of total lobbying dollars spent by top healthcare organizations. The estimates were compiled by adding dollars spent directly by the organization and by third-party lobbyists available on a Senate database.
The American Hospital Association (AHA) was the top spender on lobbying this quarter, putting in $6.46 million. AARP (formerly the American Association of Retired Persons) and the American Medical Association (AMA) both clocked in at more than $5 million for the quarter.
The Pharmaceutical Care Management Association, a major association for pharmacy benefit managers, spent $3.8 million. Health information technology company Oracle also ranked in the top five, spending $3.3 million. CVS and its subsidiaries spent $2.8 million.
Five of the top 10 spenders were organizations representing health plans, and healthcare insurance companies including trade association America’s Health Insurance Plans, Cigna, the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, Elevance and UnitedHealth Group spent between $1.8 million and $2.7 million each.
The American Cancer Society Action Network, the American Academy of Family Physicians, health insurer Humana and for-profit health system HCA Healthcare rounded out the $1 million category of lobbying organizations.
Many sides of the healthcare industry are represented in the top 30 spenders, including medical technology and medical device advocates, provider advocacy organizations, hospitals and health systems, health plans and pharma.
Hospitals and health systems also burned major cash this quarter. The Federation of American Hospitals, Mass Brigham General, Atrium Health, Tenet Healthcare and Vitas Healthcare earned spots in the top 30.
Major spenders outside of AHA and AMA on the patient and provider advocacy side were the American Academy of Family Physicians, the American Association of Dermatologists, the American Association of Medical Colleges and the American Civil Liberties Union.
Medical technology and medical device advocates on the list include Philips, Baxter, the Medical Device Manufacturing Association and the Advanced Medical Technology Association.
| American Hospital Association | $6,460,000.00 |
| AARP | $5,457,500.00 |
| American Medical Association | $5,320,000.00 |
| Pharmaceutical Care Management Association | $3,830,000.00 |
| Oracle | $3,300,000.00 |
| CVS | $2,790,000.00 |
| America's Health Insurance Plans | $2,660,000.00 |
| Cigna | $2,600,000.00 |
| UnitedHealth Group | $1,915,000.00 |
| Elevance | $1,827,500.00 |
| Blue Cross Blue Shield Association | $1,750,000.00 |
| American Academy of Family Physicians | $1,645,000.00 |
| American Cancer Society Action Network | $1,520,000.00 |
| Humana | $1,190,000.00 |
| HCA healthcare | $1,010,000.00 |
| American Association of Medical Colleges | $889,500.00 |
| Philips | $850,000.00 |
| Kaiser Foundation | $800,000.00 |
| Federation of American Hospitals | $790,000.00 |
| Healthcare Distribution Alliance | $708,503.00 |
| Tenet Healthcare | $700,000.00 |
| Baxter | $620,000.00 |
| American Academy of Dermatology | $580,000.00 |
| Mass General Brigham | $515,000.00 |
| American Civil Liberties Union | $500,000.00 |
| Partnership for Quality Home Healthcare | $450,000.00 |
| AdvaMed | $435,000.00 |
| Molina Healthcare | $420,000.00 |
| Medical Device Manufacturers Association | $400,000.00 |
| Vitas Healthcare Corporation | $317,500.00 |
| Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy | $310,000.00 |