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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
Rebekah L. Orr, University of Minnesota, N504 Boynton Health Service, 410 Church Street, Minneapolis, MN 55455, (612) 624-9440, orrx0033@tc.umn.edu and Steven H Miles, MD, Center for Bioethics, University of Minnesota, N 504 Boynton, 410 Church Street, Minneapolis, MN 55455.
Health professional associations play an important role in health care policy development; however, the goals of these associations are not always aligned with the public's health interests. Political Action Committees (PACs) are the policy arms of health professional associations. Their contributions to federal campaigns are an indicator of their policy preferences. We analyze the donation strategies of seven health professional PACs and the policy implications of these strategies. We correlate PAC donations with blocks of 68 House and 44 Senate votes on health policy. The blocks were votes in these areas: access to health care, reproductive choice, HMO reform, and public health. Two giving strategies were examined: 1) promoting the economic interests of health professionals and 2) promoting the public's health. Six of seven PACs put the economic interests of the professionals before the interests of the public's health. This study offers a way to track influential health policy groups legislative interests.
Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, participants will be able to
Keywords: Health Care Politics,
Related Web page: www.opensecrets.org/
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.