| Donor No. 49: Virginia Association of HMOs - $55,690 |
By Tracey Wainwright
With their campaign donations, health maintenance organizations sent a message to General Assembly Democrats, who want to give patients more clout in dealing with HMOs.
During the 1999 election cycle, the Virginia Association of HMOs gave Republican legislators almost four times as much money as it gave Democrats.
The group, now called the Virginia Association of Health Plans, donated $45,619 to GOP lawmakers. The association’s top five recipients were all Republicans.
Democratic legislators received just over $9,570 from the association. The top Democratic recipient was Senate Minority Leader Richard Saslaw, of Springfield, with $1,500.
According to its Web site, the association promotes legislation that advances the operation of health plans in Virginia through lobbying and its political action committee. The group changed its name to include health plans other than HMOs.
Association members include Aetna US Healthcare, Trigon Blue Cross Blue Shield, CIGNA HealthCare and UniCare.
Democrats tried to push through the General Assembly two bills that would have given patients more rights with managed health care. But Republicans, who now control both the House and Senate, killed the legislation.
One Democratic bill would have allowed patients to pick doctors even outside the health plans’ networks without paying extra fees. House Minority Floor Leader C. Richard Cranwell, D-Vinton, who received no money from the HMO association, sponsored the bill.
Another Democratic proposal would have given patients the right to sue their HMOs when denied or delayed care resulted in injury or death. The bill’s patron, Delegate A. Donald McEachin, D-Richmond, did not receive any donations from the HMO group.
Most of the top recipients of the association’s campaign dollars sit on health-related committees or the Legislature’s powerful money committees.
Republican Delegate John H. Rust Jr. of Fairfax, who sits on the Finance and Health Welfare and Institutions committees, collected the most money from the HMO group: $3,000.
The association did not return phone calls for comment.
Legislature rejects 'Bill of Rights' for HMO members