Elizabethtown Times

Citizens for sane government (pac) issued the following announcement on Oct  22.

Private equity-backed physician staffing firms and other companies affected by proposed surprise medical bills legislation are ramping up their lobbying spending to unprecedented levels. The multi-million dollar industry influence campaign, which comes on top of a blitz of TV and digital ads and opinion pieces, peaked in the third quarter from July through September. Physician firms and emergency services companies have a lot to lose if Congress caps the amount of money they can charge to patients receiving out-of-network care, which most often occurs during emergency visits. Physicians for Fair Coverage, a coalition of privately-owned physician staffing firms, reported spending $4.1 million in the third quarter of 2019, a massive increase from its total of $145,000 through the first half of the year. The group did not respond to a request for comment about the unusually high figure. One of the firms in the coalition, US Acute Care Solutions, shelled out $340,000 in the third quarter after spending a grand total of $110,000 through the first six months. After spending $130,000 through the first half of the year, coalition member US Physician Partners also spent $340,000 in the third quarter to dispatch lobbyists to Capitol Hill. One behalf of the company, K Street firm Akin, Gump deployed former Rep. Vic Fazio (D-Calif.), who has long lobbied for private equity firms and worked for an industry trade group.These companies are making the case that bipartisan legislation to cap surprise medical bills favors the insurance industry, and have pushed their own solutions. The bill, which had momentum this summer, has stalled in the Senate amid the massive lobbying campaign. OpenSecrets was the first to report on a multi-million ad campaign from an obscure front group called Doctor Patient Unity, which is urging Congress to reject surprise medical bills legislation. The New York Times later revealed that Doctor Patient Unity — which spent $28 million on ads through mid-September — is funded by at least two private equity-funded physician staffing companies, TeamHealth and Envision Healthcare. Envision Healthcare, which is owned by New York hedge fund KKR & Co, reported spending $220,000 on lobbying in the third quarter, up from $80,000 during the last three-month period.TeamHealth spent at least $155,000, more than the $100,000 it spent through the first half of the year. The firm is owned by hedge fund giant Blackstone Group, which spent a total of $640,000 last quarter and upped its spending with lobbying firm Alpine Group from $80,000 to $120,000 as it lobbied on the bill. The lobbying firm dispatched three lobbyists on the issue of surprise medical bills, including former Senate Health Committee aide Jay Hawkins.OpenSecrets also was the first to shed light on a six-figure ad campaign from Global Medical Response, a KKR-owned ambulance company that stands to lose big from surprise medical billing legislation. Although the industry’s spending doesn’t match that of physician companies, Global Medical Response’s subsidiary spent $60,000 in the third quarter to hire Washington lobbyist Jeffrey Miller. The former vice chairman of President Donald Trump’s inaugural committee, Miller has found recent success with high-profile clients as Trump’s top lobbyist bundler. Air Medical Group Holdings, a major air ambulance firm, spent a shocking $1.2 million in the third quarter and not reporting lobbying for since 2016.As the bipartisan Senate legislation stalls, House Democrats are attempting to come up with their own solution to surprise medical bills, which are widespread and have caused some families to go bankrupt. But a proposal from House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Richard Neal (D-Mass.) to create a committee of stakeholder groups and administrative agencies to find a solution isn’t gaining traction. Top House Republicans favor a doctor-supported measure to allow for an arbitration process if doctors believe they are not being paid enough for their services. Researcher Dan Auble contributed to this report.

Original source here.