The influence of healthcare industry lobbyists on U.S. policy

Public Policy Healthcare Issue -- the Influence of Lobbyists

Introduction to the Topic and Factual Background

Healthcare costs are one of the most important concerns in American society today. Currently, they amount to more than $2 trillion annually and at their present rate of growth, will absorb fully forty percent of the national economy before the end of the decade (Reid, 2009). One of the main reasons for this situation is that American healthcare is completely dominated by a for-profit private health insurance industry that accounts for a third of all healthcare costs without performing a single medical service (Kennedy, 2006). To date, there are more than six professional lobbyists for the health insurance industry in Washington for every elected member of Congress. They represent more than 1,500 different private companies whose interest are diametrically opposite to those of badly needed meaningful health care reform to lower the costs of healthcare services (Kennedy, 2006; Reid, 2009).

Stakeholders and their Influence

The stakeholders in this issue are the American public, the professional healthcare community, and the big business interests that have gained and see to maintain their complete control over U.S. healthcare. They do this by directly influencing the last group of stakeholders through their financial campaign contributions and offers of quid-pro-quo private sector positions in the future after their political careers are over: namely, publicly elected officials (Kennedy, 2006; Reid, 2009). Unfortunately, the influence of the healthcare industry lobbyists is tremendous. One need only look up the publicly available information of how much large healthcare interests contribute to members of the U.S. Congress in any given year to understand why healthcare legislation continues to favor corporations over the members of the American public, almost half of whom cannot afford health insurance (Kennedy, 2006; Reid, 2009).

Challenges, Problems and Next Steps

The principal problem responsible for the perpetuation of this issue is that political lobbying is currently an accepted process in the U.S. That poses tremendous challenges, largely because the very individuals whose attention, resolve, and action would be required to rectify the situation are those who currently benefit the most from it: elected members of the U.S. Congress. Unfortunately, only a small minority of those stakeholders -- most notably Representative Anthony Weiner of New York and Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont -- have been appropriately vocal about the tremendously detrimental influence of healthcare lobbyists in Washington. Most of their colleagues in both the Senate and the House of Representatives have remained all but silent on the issue because so many of them benefit from the contributions of healthcare lobbyists.

The next steps necessary to rectify this situation are relatively obvious: namely, Congress must change laws that pertain to campaign finance contribution, especially by large industries and their lobbyists. Ultimately, that will require more elected officials with the same courage and integrity as that displayed routinely by Representative Weiner and Senator Sanders.