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WHA Lobbying Effort Again Near the Top (August 4, 2006)
Initial figures released this week by the Wisconsin Ethics Board once again show WHA near the top of Wisconsin's 715 registered lobbying organizations. According to an analysis by WisPolitics, from January 1 through June 30 of 2006, WHA ranked third among the "traditional lobbying powers" in the amount of dollars ($440,233) devoted to lobbying. Others in the top four were the Forest County Potawatomi ($728,868), WEAC ($548,503) and WMC ($412,184).
"The numbers continue to reflect the priority our members place on aggressive and effective advocacy in the state Capitol; that's why they pay dues and belong to WHA," said Borgerding. "Over the past few years, the bulk of our lobbying efforts have changed from a defensive or reactive posture to being far more proactive. While there will always be bad ideas out there that need to be addressed, our team is proud of the positive things we were able to accomplish this session."
Of the 2,738 hours WHA staff spent lobbying in the first six months of the year, 1,177 hours were devoted to AB 1073, legislation restoring a cap on non-economic damages. WHA's effort was the highest of all groups registered to lobby on AB 1073 and six times more than the leading opponent of the legislation.
"It's not just how much time we spend in the Capitol, it's what we spend our time and resources lobbying on," said Borgerding. "The four issues we lobbied most heavily were aimed at preserving and expanding access to health care."
In addition to AB 1073, WHA lobbied successfully to: defeat the Taxpayer Protection Amendment (AJR 77/SJR63), which could have threatened funding for Medicaid; pass the Quality Improvement Act (SB 578 – vetoed by Governor Doyle) to expand information about health care quality and safety; and pass an administrative rule increasing access to dental care for Medicaid recipients.
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