American Hospital Association

Healthcare Industry Spends Record $744 Million on Federal Lobbying in 2024, Pharmaceutical Sector Leads at $384 Million

| Importance: 8/10

In 2024, the healthcare sector spent $743.9 million on federal lobbying—$10 million less than 2023’s $745 million but maintaining its position as the largest lobbying sector in the United States for the 26th consecutive year. Pharmaceutical and health products companies led healthcare spending …

Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America American Medical Association American Hospital Association Pharmaceutical Care Management Association Health insurance industry +1 more lobbying healthcare pharmaceutical-industry systematic-corruption regulatory-capture +1 more
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Trump Administration Expands 'Junk Insurance' Short-Term Plans to Undermine ACA

| Importance: 7/10

The Trump administration finalized regulations expanding short-term, limited-duration health insurance plans from a maximum 3-month term (set by Obama in 2016) to 364 days with renewability up to 3 years total. These plans—derided by critics as ‘junk insurance’ and ’the Trump …

Trump Administration Department of Health and Human Services Department of Labor Department of Treasury America's Health Insurance Plans +2 more healthcare aca-sabotage trump-administration insurance-regulation junk-insurance +2 more
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HIPAA Passes with Limited Portability Protections While Granting Healthcare Industry Control Over Patient Data

| Importance: 7/10

President Clinton signs the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), bipartisan legislation that ostensibly addresses insurance portability between jobs but creates a regulatory framework that permits extensive healthcare industry data sharing while blocking more comprehensive …

Bill Clinton Nancy Kassebaum Edward Kennedy Health Insurance Association of America American Hospital Association healthcare insurance-industry regulatory-capture data-privacy portability
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EMTALA Passes as Unfunded Mandate, Enabling Insurance Industry to Shift Emergency Care Costs to Hospitals

| Importance: 7/10

President Reagan signs the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1986 (COBRA), which includes the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA) requiring hospitals with emergency departments to screen and stabilize any patient regardless of ability to pay. While framed as …

Ronald Reagan American Hospital Association Health Insurance Association of America Pete Stark healthcare unfunded-mandate emergency-care cost-shifting regulatory-capture
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Medicare Adopts DRG Prospective Payment System Creating Hospital Profit Incentives for Reduced Care

| Importance: 7/10

The Social Security Amendments of 1983 establish Medicare’s Prospective Payment System (PPS), fundamentally transforming hospital economics by replacing cost-based reimbursement with fixed payments based on Diagnosis Related Groups (DRGs). Under the new system, hospitals receive a …

Ronald Reagan Richard Schweiker American Hospital Association Federation of American Hospitals healthcare medicare regulatory-capture hospital-industry cost-shifting
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