National Nurses United

C A L I F O R N I A N U R S E J U N E 2 0 0 5 13 blamed hospital closures on the ratios, and attacked CNA for being a special interest. A CNA staff person familiar with buying airtime estimated the ads cost at least $6 million. Lobbying can only take you so far, however. It helps to be lobbying elected officials who already see things from your point of view, so CHA also maintains at least two active political action committees that raise and spend money supporting or opposing candidates and ballot measures. The first, the California Healthcare Association PAC, also called CHPAC, has raised and spent about $2.1 million since 2000. The second, the California Healthcare Committee on Issues, or CHCI, has raised and spent about $4.3 million since 2000. The two PACs are closely tied to CHA itself; CHPAC has received more than $990,000 worth of administrative services from CHA since 2000, according to campaign finance disclosures filed with the Secretary of State. CHA's website, www.cal- health.org, invites visitors to contribute to CHPAC. Those who give $1,000 or more join the "President's Club." A donation from $500 to $999 gets you onto the "Leadership Board," and $250 to $499 into the "Golden State Club." The PAC's goal for 2005 is $600,000, and it has raised $344,023 as of press time. Glancing through CHPAC's campaign disclosure reports, it appears that almost every California hospital executive-level, director-level, or manager-level staffer personally contributes to the committee, usually in amounts ranging from $100 to $1,000. These donations are on top of their employer institution's regu- lar dues. (Check this website to find out if your hospital execu- tive has donated money to CHPAC: http://dbsearch.ss.ca.gov/ ContributorSearch.aspx) Sometimes even the administrative assistants to these executives kick in $100. The Hospital Association of Southern California, the Hospital Council or Northern and Central California, St. Joseph's Medical Center in Stockton, and CAHHS all serve as intermediaries for these con- tributions, according to the disclosure reports. CHCI's reports reveal a different pattern for soliciting con- tributions. This group tends to raise large chunks of money from major healthcare companies, not employees. Fundraising for CHCI remained rather modest until 2003, when the PAC col- lected $3.1 million, and 2004, when it collected $1.1 million. In those years, hospital corporations such as Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, Community Medical Centers in Fresno, Kaiser Permanente, Memorial Health Services in Long Beach, HCA Columbia, and Sharp Healthcare in San Diego, among oth- ers, gave amounts close to or upwards of $100,000. In 2004, Kaiser gave $500,000 and Catholic Healthcare West gave $321,640. Looking at combined contributions to CHCI since 2000, however, Tenet Healthcare Corporation ranked first, with $755,800. Kaiser came in second with $657,808, CHW with their $321,640, and Adventist Health in Roseville with $279,400. Again, all these donations are on top of regular dues and in addi- tion to the financial activities of political and major donor com- mittees that individual hospital systems establish to sway elections. For example, in the last half of 2004, Kaiser spent almost $480,000, in addition to the half million it gave to CHCI, on various other groups supporting and opposing a variety of state and local candidates and measures. "These are huge amounts of money," said Deborah Burger, RN and CNA president. "That's money that could be used for patient care." The two PACs take that money and redistribute it to polit- ical candidates, in the case of CHPAC, or committees support- ing or opposing ballot initiatives, in the case of CHCI. CHPAC's money is not spent strictly along party lines; both Democratic and Republican candidates and the state Democratic and Republican parties receive contributions—though CHPAC does appear to favor more Republican candidates and tends to give larger amounts to the Republican Party. CHCI likewise has sup- ported ballot measures that healthcare progressives have both backed and criticized: In 2004, it gave nearly $1 million to pass TOP FIVE SPENDERS ON HEALTH LOBBYING 2005 (Q1) SPENT ON LOBBYING California Hospital Association, et al $ 355,484.82 Alliance of Catholic Health Care, Inc. $ 286,972.30 Johnson & Johnson Services, Inc. $ 188,719.08 California Association of Health Plans $ 172,129.64 Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc. $ 171,991.82 2004 California Healthcare Association, et al $ 865,658.26 Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc. $ 792,013.52 Johnson & Johnson Services, Inc. $ 635,946.39 California Association of Health Plans $ 560,517.68 Alliance of Catholic Health Care, Inc. $ 540,835.98 2003 California Healthcare Association, et al $ 1,452,497.51 Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc. $ 762,083.33 Alliance of Catholic Health Care, Inc. $ 684,720.48 Johnson & Johnson Services, Inc. $ 647,629.64 California Dental Association and its Wholly Owned Subsidiaries $ 639,070.26 2002 California Healthcare Association, et al $ 1,212,431.87 Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc. $ 856,963.37 California Association of Health Plans $ 698,585.24 GlaxoSmithKline $ 655,243.12 California Dental Association and its Wholly Owned Subsidiaries $ 547,321.16 2001 California Healthcare Association, et al $ 1,257,003.07 Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc. $ 869,464.78 California Association of Health Plans $ 804,046.72 Blue Shield of California $ 565,635.85 California Dental Association and its Wholly Owned Subsidiaries $ 547,087.03 2000 California Healthcare Association, et al $ 1,250,061.25 California Association of Health Facilities $ 948,816.60 Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc. $ 877,292.63 California Association of Health Plans $ 642,984.15 Californians Allied for Patient Protection (CAPP) $ 504,102.13 SOURCE: Lobbyist reports filed with the California Secretary of State

• Cover