Device Industry Increased Lobby Spending in First Quarter

The medical device industry ran up quite a bill lobbying federal lawmakers as they finalized healthcare reform legislation during the first three months of 2010.

Documents filed with the Lobbying Disclosure Act Database by various companies indicate the device industry spent at least $20 million to ensure its voice was heard during the final weeks of debate over healthcare reform. The industry’s largest advocacy group, the Advanced Medical Technology Association (AdvaMed), spent $385,025 on lobbying efforts in the first quarter, ended March 30, according to its filing. That total represents a 35.3 percent increase compared with the $284,569 AdvaMed spent on lobbying during the fourth quarter of 2009 and a 5.6 percent jump compared with the $364,638 the organization expended during the first quarter of last year.

AdvaMed officials were extremely vocal during the debate on Capitol Hill over healthcare reform. Their vehement opposition to a proposed $4 billion annual tax on medical device manufacturers (to help fund healthcare reform) prompted lawmakers to halve that levy and delay its implementation by several years.

The organization also lobbied against efforts by Congress to make it easier for patients to sue medical device firms in personal injury lawsuits. A U.S. Supreme Court decision currently absolves device firms of liability at the state level. Democrats want to overturn that decision, claiming patients should have the right to sue manufacturing companies for defective products. AdvaMed, however, contends that overriding the Supreme Court decision would allow state courts to second-guess medical experts and create a patchwork of inconsistent and confusing guidance.

Many of the device industry’s largest companies increased their spending on lobbying efforts during the first quarter. The largest increases came from Hospira Inc., which boosted spending by 27.7 percent, Johnson & Johnson, which enhanced its lobbying funds by 21 percent, and Medtronic Inc., which raised its lobbying expenses by 20 percent. Overall, General Electric (including all its subsidiaries) spent the most money on lobbying in the first quarter—$7.1 million (a 4.4 percent jump); while neurostimulation device maker Cyberonics Inc. and medical billing software firm ZirMed Inc. each spent the least amount, $9,000.

Other notable increases were recorded by Abbott Laboratories (14.2 percent to $1.8 million), Accenture (more than seven-fold to $860,000) and Life Technologies Corp. (24 percent to $310,000). Nearly a dozen companies—including Abiomed Inc., C.R. Bard Inc., DJO Inc., Intuitive Surgical Inc., Invacare Corporation, Inverness Medical Innovations Inc., LifeIMAGE Inc., and Medrad Inc.—kept the same funding levels from the last quarter of 2009.

Several firms significantly cut spending on lobbying efforts, according to the filings. Covidien plc reduced spending by 41.2 percent, shelling out $640,00 in the first quarter, while Becton Dickinson & Co. slashed lobbying funds by 17.2 percent, expending $178,000.

The largest funding cuts came from orthopedic device behemoths Stryker Corp. and Zimmer Inc. According to its filing, Stryker reduced spending by more than five-fold, whittling its lobbying account from $130,000 in the fourth quarter of 2009 to $20,000 in the first quarter of 2010. Zimmer cut its share by more than half, going from $75,160 in the final quarter of last year to $30,000 in the first three months of this year.