NY hospital lobby's power stretches to DC in stimulus battle

The stated mission of The Greater New York Hospital Association is simple enough: to help members deliver the finest patient care in the most cost-effective way. But it's more complicated than that.

While the association, which represents health care providers at the epicenter of the pandemic, is a nonprofit organization, it has the balance sheet of a robust private company, pays executive salaries that top USD 3 million and spent millions more to lobby in Washington for some of the nation's most profitable hospitals.

So when it came time to secure its share of the record USD 3.6 trillion in federal stimulus money, the association was well positioned. It helped steer over USD 11.5 billion in funding to the state, with billions more on the way soon, in a competition with other hospital groups, major corporations and thousands of small businesses.

On the surface, the purpose (of the stimulus) is to relieve financial damage caused by COVID-19. But in reality, it's likely to actually increase the disparity, said Ge Bai, a Johns Hopkins University professor who studies the economics of hospitals.

It's very political. The money coming from the federal government is a zero sum game and we have some extremely powerful, large and rich hospitals.

The story of how the New York group leveraged its power during the pandemic shows that the Washington influence industry functions much the same way in a public health crisis as it does in normal times, where the better heeled and connected get far closer to a desired result.

Many smaller organizations say the group's connections and resources make it hard to compete.

We did feel that we were being a little outgunned, said Maggie Elehwany, vice president of government affairs and policy for the National Rural Health Association, which has spent just over $403,000 on lobbying since January 2019, a fraction when compared to the $3 million outlay by the Greater New York Hospital Association during the same period.

The association helped secure billions for its member hospitals inundated by the virus, particularly New York City's underfunded public health system. But the aid will also flow to profitable hospitals that have generated millions and in some cases billions of dollars in revenue in recent years, records show.

What's more, some of the group's recent lobbying has been aimed at rolling back consumer protections or blocking new ones rather than securing resources for New York.

The association declined to answer questions. Brian Conway, the group's spokesman, said in a statement, GNYHA advocates fiercely and without apology for our entire membership, including public hospitals, financially struggling safety net hospitals, and academic medical centers, and we will continue to do so.

The Trump administration has wide latitude to decide where much of the USD 175 billion in emergency coronavirus funding allotted for hospitals and other health care providers will go. And New York isn't the only state seeking to influence how the money is distributed.

If it does prevail, one reason is likely to be its well tended political connections.

The association has served as a deep-pocketed donor to the interests of powerful Democratic officials in New York such as Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Sen. Chuck Schumer, while also maintaining Republican ties, including the ability to contact Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump's son-in-law and a top adviser, by phone when needed.

The organization has given more than USD 8.5 million since 2016 to a super PAC aligned with Schumer, and about USD 2.2 million to a similar super PAC that elects House Democrats. Its chief lobbyist, David Rich, has donated more than USD 130,000 to Cuomo, a Democrat, records show.

The contributions to the two super PACs were more than double what the American Hospital Association's political action committee gave to Republicans and Democrats alike during the same period. Raske recently touted the organization's contacts with high-ranking White House officials.

GNYHA has been totally engaged with the Trump Administration on this issue, Raske wrote in an April 10 statement that also mentioned he spoke directly with Kushner.