Health News
By far, health-care interests have spent the most on lobbying the General Assembly since the Legislative Ethics Commission was created 22 years ago, Jonathan Meador of Insider Louisville discovered among many other things as he crunched the data filed by lobbying interests over the years.
"The most dominant industries in Kentucky in terms of lobbying dollars have been, by far, the health care and health insurance sectors, comprised primarily of for-profit HMOs and to a lesser extent hospitals, many of which are listed in their own category within the larger dataset," Meador reports.
Health care accounted for almost 23 percent of lobbying expenses categorized by Meador, while insurance totaled 11 percent. Tobacco, the cause of many of Kentucky's health problems, ranked third, just behind insurance. Most of the tobacco lobbying in Kentucky is done by Altria Group, parent firm of Philip Morris Cos., makers of Marlboro and other cigarettes. It has lobbied against a statewide smoking ban with the help of the Kentucky Farm Bureau Federation, a big insurance interest.
One other major category, "pharmaceutical issues," made the Insider Louisville pie chart, at 6.8 percent. It would have been much larger had it included advertising by the Consumer Healthcare Products Association, which ran radio ads before and during legislative sessions encouraging listeners to ask legislators to vote against bills to limit the sales of pseudoephedrine, a key ingredient in making methamphetamine. At the time, such advertising did not have to be reported; now it does.
Meador notes that the "nonprofit" designation "can include everything from conservative anti-abortion groups to the progressive Kentuckians for the Commonwealth, and even well-heeled professional membership organizations like the Kentucky Medical Association." While KMA is a health-care organization, doctors and health-care businesses don't always agree on issues.
Meador also notes that "Chamber of Commerce" in the chart includes local chambers as well as the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, which usually spends more than any other particular lobbying organization. The figures do not include lobbying of the executive branch, which is monitored by the Executive Branch Ethics Commission.
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- Health Care Is Top-spending Legislative Lobby In Kentucky
Kentucky's health-care industry spent about $1.5 million, more than any other industry, to lobby state legislators in in the first four months of the year. "Health care spending was led by hospital operators, who spent about $300,000, including...
- Philip Morris's Parent Company And Drug Makers Spent The Most On Lobbying The State Legislature Last Year
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Health News
Health care industry ranks first, by far, in legislative lobbying since '93; insurance second, tobacco third; drugmakers' rank a mystery
"The most dominant industries in Kentucky in terms of lobbying dollars have been, by far, the health care and health insurance sectors, comprised primarily of for-profit HMOs and to a lesser extent hospitals, many of which are listed in their own category within the larger dataset," Meador reports.
Health care accounted for almost 23 percent of lobbying expenses categorized by Meador, while insurance totaled 11 percent. Tobacco, the cause of many of Kentucky's health problems, ranked third, just behind insurance. Most of the tobacco lobbying in Kentucky is done by Altria Group, parent firm of Philip Morris Cos., makers of Marlboro and other cigarettes. It has lobbied against a statewide smoking ban with the help of the Kentucky Farm Bureau Federation, a big insurance interest.
One other major category, "pharmaceutical issues," made the Insider Louisville pie chart, at 6.8 percent. It would have been much larger had it included advertising by the Consumer Healthcare Products Association, which ran radio ads before and during legislative sessions encouraging listeners to ask legislators to vote against bills to limit the sales of pseudoephedrine, a key ingredient in making methamphetamine. At the time, such advertising did not have to be reported; now it does.
Meador notes that the "nonprofit" designation "can include everything from conservative anti-abortion groups to the progressive Kentuckians for the Commonwealth, and even well-heeled professional membership organizations like the Kentucky Medical Association." While KMA is a health-care organization, doctors and health-care businesses don't always agree on issues.
Meador also notes that "Chamber of Commerce" in the chart includes local chambers as well as the Kentucky Chamber of Commerce, which usually spends more than any other particular lobbying organization. The figures do not include lobbying of the executive branch, which is monitored by the Executive Branch Ethics Commission.
- Altria, Parent Of Philip Morris, Reports Spending Most On Lobbying The 2014 Legislature But Says It Didn't Fight Smoking Ban
The parent firm of the nation's largest cigarette company again reported spending more than anyone else on lobbying the Kentucky General Assembly, but says it did not fight the bill that would have imposed a statewide smoking ban in most public places....
- Meds-for-meth Bill Drew Record Lobbying Expenses, Not Even Including Radio And Newspaper Ad Campaigns
Makers of over-the-counter drugs spent more than any lobbying interest ever had during a single Kentucky legislative session in their effort to defeat a bill requiring prescriptions for the key ingredient in methamphetamine, Bill Estep reports for the...
- Group Fighting Meds-for-meth Bill Says It Spent Nearly $200,000 In January On Lobbying, And That Apparently Omits Radio Buys
The group fighting a bill that would make the key ingredient for making methamphetamine available only by prescription spent more than $194,000 last month alone to lobby lawmakers, far more than any other lobbying interest at the General Assembly. The...
- Health Care Is Top-spending Legislative Lobby In Kentucky
Kentucky's health-care industry spent about $1.5 million, more than any other industry, to lobby state legislators in in the first four months of the year. "Health care spending was led by hospital operators, who spent about $300,000, including...
- Philip Morris's Parent Company And Drug Makers Spent The Most On Lobbying The State Legislature Last Year
The two biggest-spending lobbies of the state legislature last year were a tobacco company that opposes a statewide smoking ban and a group of drug makers who oppose a bill to require prescriptions for decongestants used to make methamphetamine. The...