Module 04 Course Project - Healthcare Reform in Two States
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TiaBranden_LobbyingintheUSHealthcareIndustry_022421.docx1
Running Head: Lobbying in the US Healthcare Industry
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Lobbying in the US Healthcare Industry
Lobbying in the US Healthcare Industry
Tia Branden
Rasmussen College
02.24.2021
PART I
Introduction
Lobbyists serve the function of influencing policymakers on behalf of an organization so that the decisions they make favour the parent organization. It has become a practical way of influencing government decision making. This is also the case in the healthcare industry where big companies such as Merck, Pfizer and the American Health Association spend lots of money to hire lobbyists (Landers, & Sehgal, 2004). This paper will present two specific examples where lobbying was used to influence healthcare decisions.
How lobbying has been used
2009 healthcare reform bill
In 2009, Congress was in debating the health care reform bill. This is a significant bill whose implications stretch far and wide into US healthcare. The healthcare companies involved were of all types ranging from large corporations, medium-sized establishments, advocacy groups, universities, religious groups and even Indian tribes. In total, they hired about 4,525 lobbyists, which represent eight lobbyists for each member of Congress. This is a significant number and shows the effort that goes into the lobbying division (Leech, 2010). The results were successful as they reduced the brunt of the cost-cutting measures that would have been put in place and blocked a proposed robust government-run insurance program.
This was good for the companies. They would retain the majority of their profits, but the citizens were denied the intended benefits of this healthcare bill (Miles, & Asbridge, 2017). The cost-cutting measures would relieve many families of expensive healthcare, especially in the US, where it is the most costly. The insurance program would cover many people, from the homeless to the independent, but this did not materialize. The people were denied improvements to their lives, all for the sake of the preservation of the corporations' money.
An insurance program is critical in ensuring universal healthcare provision for all citizens. There are various social classes in society. Therefore, there is a need for an insurance program by the government to help those from low-income families to be able to access healthcare services through lobbying it to help the government through the legislature to pass policies that enable effective implementation of healthcare insurance program. Through lobbying, the government understands the need of the healthcare sector so that when policies are being made, they Address the fundamental challenges facing the healthcare sector.
The lobbying was significant as it helped the citizen’s benefits from government programs. It enables the government to understand issues to be addressed and included in the program, ensuring that both the organization and the citizens benefit from healthcare provision.
The challenges of lobbying for the amendment of the laws is complex and takes a lengthy procedure. The lobbying group have to meet various stakeholders to ensure that they come up with better alternative measures that will help in ensuring that the changes will benefit the citizens.
Activities of lobbyist have ethical issues, especially the method used in ensuring that their views are heard. At a point, the demonstration was conducted as a way of forcing government officials to pass legislation and implement the laws that are aimed at protecting and improving the health status of the citizens. Therefore, lobbying is a good activity but the method used to pass information need to be professional which allows all the stakeholder to come on board and share ideas instead of demonstrating on streets where it can be hard to control the behaviours of all individuals involved in demonstrations. Lack of control leads to criminal activities, which becomes difficult for the leaders to possess.
Concerning the achievement of the lobbying group on the healthcare reform bill, there is the satisfaction that the best way to engage the government, especially the legislative arm of the government, is by using lobbying group to champion the rights of a minority within the society. The right of the minority are not considered based on social class, but when united and supported by the lobby group, their rights are considered and included in healthcare reforms.
Medicare prescription drug coverage
In the fall of 2003, the Medicare prescription bill was on a debate in congress. It would ensure that the pharmaceutical companies would receive coverage when manufacturing their drugs for the elderly. This would be a great advantage as the cost of lawsuits against such companies is enormous, especially among the elderly. This is because old people are more likely to develop complications than young people. This would provide pharmaceutical companies with a shield against revenue loss. The lobbying done was extensive, but people, in particular, were instrumental in the passing of the bill. These were Congressman Billy Tauzin, Senators John Breaux and Don Nickles. They later left congress to pursue a career in lobbying.
This was a classic example of the power of lobbying (Tokarski, 1990). The government officials were actively involved. The Bill in question had benefits for the pharmaceutical companies, but they did not have the best interests of the aged in society. This is because, with this Bill in place, the companies would become brasher in how they develop their drugs and will not take much care when introducing new drugs to the market. This will lead to many defective drugs that are a health risk to old people and may even cause death in extreme cases.
Conclusion
An insurance program is key in ensuring universal healthcare provision for all citizens. There are different social classes in society. Therefore, there is a need for an insurance program by the government to help those from poor families to be able to access healthcare services through lobbying it to help the government through the legislature to pass policies that enable effective implementation of healthcare insurance program. The best way to engage the government, especially the legislative arm of the government, is by using a lobbying group to champion the rights of a minority within the society. The right of the minority are not considered based on social class, but when united and supported by the lobby group, their rights are considered and included in healthcare reforms.
Lobbying is a good activity but the method used to pass information need to be professional which allows all the stakeholder to come on board and share ideas instead of demonstrating on streets where it can be hard to control the behaviours of all individuals involved in demonstrations. Lack of control leads to criminal activities, which becomes difficult for the leaders to control.
PART II
GOOD HEALTH INC.
Role of Lobbyists
24th February 2021
1400 hrs.
Type of Meeting: Departmental heads meeting
Meeting Facilitator: Allan Boyd
Invitees: All company departmental heads
Call to order
Roll call
Approval of minutes from the last meeting
Open issues
What role do lobbyists play in influencing healthcare reform?
How are their contributions positive?
How are their contributions negative?
Should Good health seek the services of lobbyists?
What would be the effects of doing this?
New business
a) How do we handle the recent entry of Quackers into our market?
Adjournment
References
Landers, S. H., & Sehgal, A. R. (2004). Health care lobbying in the United States. The American journal of medicine, 116(7), 474-477.
Leech, B. L. (2010). Lobbying and influence. The oxford handbook of American political
parties and interest groups.
Miles, A., & Asbridge, J. (2017). Person-Centred Healthcare-moving from rhetoric to
Tokarski, C. (1990). Healthcare lobbying efforts turn to states. Modern healthcare, 20(29), 29-30.
WEBER, L. J. (1993). A Positive View Of Lobbying. Health progress (Saint Louis, Mo.), 74(9), 64-66.
