[ Report Home | Previous Page | Next Page ] Austin’s Oldest Profession: Texas’ Top Lobby Clients & Those Who Service Them 2002 Edition II. Lobby Clients Health

Accounting for 11 percent of Texas’ lobby spending in 2001, Health interests spent from $10 million to $23 million on 768 lobby contracts.

Dominating this category were hospital interests led by the Texas Hospital Association, health professional groups, led by the Texas Medical Association, and health insurance interests, led by the health maintenance organization (HMO) Superior HealthPlan, Inc.

The greatest health battle of the 2001 legislative session came over a proposal to make health insurers pay medical bills promptly (HB 1862).  Physicians and consumer groups shepherded the bill through the legislature. But Governor Rick Perry, who had never objected to the measure, vetoed it. A close friend of the governor, lobbyist Mike Toomey, represented the bill’s primary opponents: HMOs and Texans for Lawsuit Reform (TLR). TLR and its members are the No. 1 source of contributions to Perry’s political campaign; the group opposed a provision that would have barred such health disputes from being forced out of court and into arbitration.¹¹

Health professions also fought several turf battles. Texas Dental Hygienists outmaneuvered the Texas Dental Association in 2001, when the Senate killed a provision to allow dentists to train hygienists on the job rather than hiring pre-certified hygienists.¹² The Texas Ophthalmological Association has fought a long turf war with optometrists, who separately fended off competition from a contact lens maker: 1-800 Contacts, Inc. (see “Eyes Wide Shut”).

The Texas Health Care Association represents the nursing home industry, which has been squeezed in recent years between dwindling federal receipts and substantial liabilities for negligent care. Finally, Johnson & Johnson is a major manufacturer of health care products, from bandages to pharmaceuticals.
 
 

Top Health Clients

	Max. Value	No. of
Lobby Client	of Contracts	Contracts
TX Hospital Assoc.	$875,000	14
TX Medical Assoc.	$665,000	18
TX Ophthalmological Assoc.	$400,000	5
TX Dental Assoc.	$350,000	8
TX Health Resources	$300,000	5
1-800 Contacts, Inc.	$285,000	9
Superior HealthPlan Inc.	$270,000	15
AMERIGROUP TX, Inc.	$270,000	13
TX Health Care Assoc.	$265,000	9
Johnson & Johnson	$250,000	2
TX Dental Hygienists' Assoc.	$250,000	6

Eyes Wide Shut

A major contact lens manufacturer effectively killed a bill it desperately wanted through overly aggressive lobby tactics.  When consumers seek to simply refill an existing contact lens prescription, some optometrists have forced them to get a new eye exam or to buy new lenses from them.  The 2001 Texas Legislature was working on a measure to make it easier for consumers to refill existing prescriptions at a lower cost by buying directly from contact lens makers. But Senate sponsor Mike Moncrief killed his own bill after he learned that one manufacturer was seeking to pack a legislative hearing with supporters by transporting them to the Capitol in limousines and private jets. In its zeal to pass this particular bill, Utah-based 1-800 Contacts overlooked one of the fundamental premises of its industry: appearances matter.