Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont hosted a town hall recently to discuss the Medicare for All Act, during which he emphasized a conflict of interest around involving the private sector in healthcare.

“Right now, we have a healthcare system that is not designed to provide quality care to all people in a cost effective way,” Sanders said at the town hall. “Let us be frank, we have a healthcare system designed to make enormous profits for insurance companies and drug companies. And disease prevention is not very high on their lists.”

Sanders isn’t alone in his sentiment. A number of polls last year (see here, here, and here) indicate that a growing plurality of Americans support switching to a single-payer healthcare system, including a substantial majority of Democrats.

A single-payer system would change the current healthcare system by using taxes to expand Medicare coverage to all Americans, allowing anyone to access free care whenever they need it.

However, Congress may be slow to respond to the growing interest in the healthcare model found in Canada and across much of Western Europe. The influence-wielding of insurance and pharmaceutical companies appears to be a barrier preventing Congress from embracing single-payer.

A Center for Responsive Politics analysis found a correlation between congressional Democrats’ support for single-payer proposals and contributions received from the health insurance and pharmaceutical industries.

One-third of Senate Democrats have cosponsored the Medicare for All Act, which Sanders introduced in September. Democrats who haven’t cosponsored the bill received 146 percent more money on average from health insurance companies between 2011 and 2016 than those who have ($147,186 to $59,789) and 60 percent more from pharma ($252,369 to $157,768).

Total Contributions to Senate Democrats (Health Insurance and Pharmaceuticals)

Recipient State Health Insurance and HMOs Pharmaceutical and Health Products Cosponsor S.1804 Dianne Feinstein California $26,100 $216,350 No Patty Murray Washington $225,701 $671,169 No Ron Wyden Oregon $371,794 $560,972 No Dick Durbin Illinois $142,919 $95,719 No Jack Reed Rhode Island $73,500 $54,700 No Chuck Schumer New York $481,665 $605,011 No Bill Nelson Florida $184,388 $110,350 No Tom Carper Delaware $162,750 $386,310 No Debbie Stabenow Michigan $205,450 $188,550 No Maria Cantwell Washington $15,760 $59,750 No Bob Menendez New Jersey $114,818 $420,638 No Ben Cardin Maryland $124,600 $126,580 No Sherrod Brown Ohio $114,770 $183,393 No Bob Casey Pennsylvania $222,050 $590,779 No Claire McCaskill Missouri $126,818 $125,298 No Amy Klobuchar Minnesota $81,925 $269,924 No Jon Tester Montana $162,560 $200,600 No Mark Warner Virginia $418,000 $235,000 No Michael Bennet Colorado $244,100 $672,817 No Joe Manchin West Virginia $146,250 $203,050 No Chris Coons Delaware $107,250 $404,800 No Joe Donnelly Indiana $114,000 $386,715 No Chris Murphy Connecticut $81,854 $125,856 No Tim Kaine Virginia $141,100 $183,950 No Heidi Heitkamp North Dakota $138,900 $97,525 No Gary Peters Michigan $48,874 $131,850 No Chris Van Hollen Maryland $51,180 $129,750 No Tammy Duckworth Illinois $43,320 $63,742 No Maggie Hassan New Hampshire $20,861 $35,981 No Catherine Cortez Masto Nevada $22,333 $33,930 No Senate Non-cosponsor Avg $147,186 $252,369 No Patrick Leahy Vermont $26,250 $127,776 Yes Sheldon Whitehouse Rhode Island $29,504 $220,363 Yes Tom Udall New Mexico $51,257 $59,316 Yes Jeanne Shaheen New Hampshire $96,563 $105,204 Yes Jeff Merkley Oregon $69,087 $47,658 Yes Kirsten Gillibrand New York $197,898 $287,668 Yes Al Franken* Minnesota $59,543 $150,461 Yes Richard Blumenthal Connecticut $64,015 $209,025 Yes Brian Schatz Hawaii $80,401 $43,751 Yes Tammy Baldwin Wisconsin $53,513 $119,378 Yes Mazie Hirono Hawaii $25,850 $48,750 Yes Martin Heinrich New Mexico $98,010 $225,000 Yes Elizabeth Warren Massachusetts $35,352 $165,313 Yes Ed Markey Massachusetts $32,007 $354,150 Yes Cory Booker New Jersey $41,688 $448,178 Yes Kamala Harris California $54,926 $68,823 Yes Bernie Sanders Vermont $545 $1,250 Yes Senate Cosponsor Avg $59,789 $157,768 Yes

Total amount shown includes donations to leadership PACs and campaign committees. Totals cover 2011-2016.

In the House, the Expanded & Improved Medicare for All Act received a larger proportion of Democratic support, with almost two-thirds cosponsoring the bill. House Democrats who haven’t cosponsored the bill received 137 percent more money on average from health insurance companies during the 2016 cycle than those who have ($27,529 to $11,618) and 77 percent more from pharma ($44,190 to $25,022).

Total Contributions to House Democrats (Health Insurance and Pharmaceuticals)

Recipient District Health Insurance and HMOS Pharmaceuticals and Health Products Cosponsor H.R.676 Steny H Hoyer Maryland District 05 $179,750 $235,000 No Frank Pallone Jr. New Jersey District 06 $133,250 $388,976 No Ami Bera California District 07 $112,867 $108,900 No Kyrsten Sinema Arizona District 09 $100,968 $95,991 No Ron Kind Wisconsin District 03 $97,500 $201,085 No John B Larson Connecticut District 01 $85,000 $65,500 No Kurt Schrader Oregon District 05 $83,250 $140,928 No Ben R Lujan New Mexico District 03 $83,000 $132,600 No Tony Cardenas California District 29 $72,750 $152,702 No Richard E Neal Massachusetts District 01 $62,000 $122,200 No Sander Levin Michigan District 09 $59,500 $22,000 No Cheri Bustos Illinois District 17 $50,500 $36,200 No Scott Peters California District 52 $48,874 $185,350 No Terri A Sewell Alabama District 07 $42,500 $38,000 No Nancy Pelosi California District 12 $42,495 $57,420 No Debbie Wasserman Schultz Florida District 23 $40,100 $37,325 No Jim Himes Connecticut District 04 $38,000 $48,900 No Pete Aguilar California District 31 $37,950 $34,900 No Sean Patrick Maloney New York District 18 $35,000 $31,780 No Julia Brownley California District 26 $34,345 $23,460 No Ann Mclane Kuster New Hampshire District 02 $32,700 $41,938 No Joe Courtney Connecticut District 02 $32,000 $39,900 No David Scott Georgia District 13 $32,000 $5,000 No Juan Vargas California District 51 $31,500 $19,750 No Derek Kilmer Washington District 06 $30,750 $48,950 No Suzan DelBene Washington District 01 $30,000 $46,486 No Dennis Heck Washington District 10 $29,500 $18,600 No Kathleen Rice New York District 04 $28,000 $24,600 No Joaquin Castro Texas District 20 $28,000 $16,937 No House Non-cosponsor Avg $27,529 $44,190 No Joe Kennedy III Massachusetts District 04 $27,285 $184,944 No Don Norcross New Jersey District 01 $25,600 $39,900 No Raul Ruiz California District 36 $22,785 $69,362 No Cedric Richmond Louisiana District 02 $22,000 $31,000 No Dan Kildee Michigan District 05 $21,800 $3,500 No Susan A Davis California District 53 $21,000 $9,700 No Jim Costa California District 16 $20,850 $6,000 No Tim Walz Minnesota District 01 $20,500 $9,775 No Elizabeth Esty Connecticut District 05 $19,250 $29,496 No Henry Cuellar Texas District 28 $19,000 $1,000 No Bill Pascrell Jr. New Jersey District 09 $16,400 $57,900 No Seth Moulton Massachusetts District 06 $14,750 $70,600 No Raja Krishnamoorthi Illinois District 08 $14,406 $6,700 No Lois J Frankel Florida District 21 $13,255 $25,313 No Rick Larsen Washington District 02 $12,250 $16,000 No Lisa Blunt Rochester Delaware District 01 $12,000 $5,700 No Michelle Lujan Grisham New Mexico District 01 $11,500 $39,450 No Norma Torres California District 35 $10,000 $22,500 No John K Delaney Maryland District 06 $10,000 $21,500 No Gerry Connolly Virginia District 11 $9,000 $26,500 No Betty McCollum Minnesota District 04 $8,650 $4,750 No Brad Schneider Illinois District 10 $8,052 $30,535 No Mike Quigley Illinois District 05 $7,500 $9,000 No Bill Foster Illinois District 11 $7,250 $32,450 No Val Demings Florida District 10 $7,100 $6,853 No Colleen Hanabusa Hawaii District 01 $7,000 $0 No Lloyd Doggett Texas District 35 $5,500 $11,050 No Collin Peterson Minnesota District 07 $5,500 $1,000 No Daniel Lipinski Illinois District 03 $5,000 $3,000 No Bill Keating Massachusetts District 09 $3,500 $39,500 No Stacey Plaskett Virgin Islands District 00 $3,500 $11,500 No Dutch Ruppersberger Maryland District 02 $3,500 $9,100 No Charlie Crist Florida District 13 $3,000 $10,350 No Rosa L DeLauro Connecticut District 03 $2,500 $18,900 No Stephen F Lynch Massachusetts District 08 $2,500 $13,000 No Tom Suozzi New York District 03 $2,250 $25,850 No Tom O'Halleran Arizona District 01 $1,535 $2,360 No Josh Gottheimer New Jersey District 05 $1,505 $22,565 No Stephanie Murphy Florida District 07 $1,050 $140 No Carol Shea-Porter New Hampshire District 01 $938 $11,384 No John Conyers Jr. Michigan District 13 $710 $13,500 No Ruben Kihuen Nevada District 04 $574 $8,378 No Salud Carbajal California District 24 $500 $4,000 No Jacky Rosen Nevada District 03 $500 $1,500 No Niki Tsongas Massachusetts District 03 $0 $56,400 No Eddie Bernice Johnson Texas District 30 $0 $1,500 No Beto O'Rourke Texas District 16 $0 $0 No Donald McEachin Virginia District 04 $0 $0 No Madeleine Z Bordallo Guam District 00 $0 $0 No Joseph Crowley New York District 14 $89,500 $159,200 Yes Mike Thompson California District 05 $80,850 $77,050 Yes Linda Sanchez California District 38 $64,050 $140,450 Yes Earl Blumenauer Oregon District 03 $63,400 $12,500 Yes Doris O Matsui California District 06 $53,500 $92,000 Yes Gene Green Texas District 29 $48,750 $143,575 Yes James E Clyburn South Carolina District 06 $39,750 $177,962 Yes Gwen Moore Wisconsin District 04 $37,000 $21,000 Yes Robin Kelly Illinois District 02 $32,000 $63,250 Yes Debbie Dingell Michigan District 12 $26,700 $18,500 Yes Mark Pocan Wisconsin District 02 $24,250 $13,509 Yes Katherine Clark Massachusetts District 05 $24,043 $98,950 Yes Emanuel Cleaver Missouri District 05 $22,500 $16,500 Yes Ed Perlmutter Colorado District 07 $22,050 $10,600 Yes Maxine Waters California District 43 $21,000 $1,000 Yes Sanford Bishop Georgia District 02 $20,500 $8,500 Yes Anna Eshoo California District 18 $20,200 $196,240 Yes Eric Swalwell California District 15 $19,985 $84,375 Yes Adam Smith Washington District 09 $19,500 $15,775 Yes Kathy Castor Florida District 14 $19,000 $4,750 Yes Paul Tonko New York District 20 $18,000 $36,105 Yes Ted Deutch Florida District 22 $18,000 $12,760 Yes Joyce Beatty Ohio District 03 $17,860 $33,000 Yes John Lewis Georgia District 05 $17,500 $17,750 Yes Ruben Gallego Arizona District 07 $17,295 $14,000 Yes Jared Polis Colorado District 02 $16,500 $32,428 Yes Brendan Boyle Pennsylvania District 13 $15,675 $42,000 Yes Ro Khanna California District 17 $15,602 $29,800 Yes Diana DeGette Colorado District 01 $15,000 $155,254 Yes G K Butterfield North Carolina District 01 $15,000 $125,260 Yes William L Clay Jr. Missouri District 01 $14,500 $21,000 Yes Brenda Lawrence Michigan District 14 $14,075 $0 Yes Danny K Davis Illinois District 07 $14,000 $40,326 Yes Brad Sherman California District 30 $13,100 $11,600 Yes Mike Doyle Pennsylvania District 14 $13,000 $15,000 Yes Dwight Evans Pennsylvania District 02 $12,600 $13,000 Yes Gregory W Meeks New York District 05 $12,000 $26,100 Yes Alan Lowenthal California District 47 $11,750 $2,000 Yes Keith Ellison Minnesota District 05 $11,686 $25,505 Yes House Cosponsor Avg $11,618 $25,022 Yes Jim Cooper Tennessee District 05 $11,000 $5,000 Yes Darren Soto Florida District 09 $11,000 $3,000 Yes Robert A Brady Pennsylvania District 01 $10,700 $0 Yes Ted Lieu California District 33 $10,500 $48,450 Yes Carolyn B Maloney New York District 12 $10,500 $300 Yes Lou Correa California District 46 $10,250 $24,750 Yes Hank Johnson Georgia District 04 $10,000 $11,500 Yes Peter Welch Vermont District 01 $9,514 $38,504 Yes Jackie Speier California District 14 $9,200 $73,400 Yes Rick Nolan Minnesota District 08 $8,646 $4,091 Yes Alma Adams North Carolina District 12 $8,500 $10,000 Yes Bobby L Rush Illinois District 01 $8,500 $3,500 Yes Bobby Scott Virginia District 03 $8,500 $0 Yes Peter DeFazio Oregon District 04 $8,019 $107 Yes Michael E Capuano Massachusetts District 07 $8,000 $34,000 Yes John A Yarmuth Kentucky District 03 $7,900 $3,500 Yes James P McGovern Massachusetts District 02 $7,850 $25,000 Yes Andre Carson Indiana District 07 $7,250 $39,151 Yes Marc Veasey Texas District 33 $7,200 $31,750 Yes Suzanne Bonamici Oregon District 01 $7,100 $21,200 Yes Tulsi Gabbard Hawaii District 02 $6,550 $4,045 Yes Don Beyer Virginia District 08 $6,500 $30,050 Yes Yvette D Clarke New York District 09 $6,000 $12,500 Yes Jerry McNerney California District 09 $6,000 $8,500 Yes Jimmy Panetta California District 20 $6,000 $2,750 Yes Frederica Wilson Florida District 24 $6,000 $2,000 Yes Nydia M Velazquez New York District 07 $6,000 $2,000 Yes David Loebsack Iowa District 02 $5,000 $45,200 Yes Anthony Brown Maryland District 04 $5,000 $15,950 Yes Brian M Higgins New York District 26 $5,000 $1,000 Yes Luis V Gutierrez Illinois District 04 $5,000 $500 Yes Chellie Pingree Maine District 01 $5,000 $0 Yes Karen Bass California District 37 $4,823 $3,500 Yes Marcia L Fudge Ohio District 11 $4,800 $17,000 Yes John Garamendi California District 03 $4,800 $3,750 Yes Bonnie Coleman New Jersey District 12 $4,700 $44,175 Yes Jim Langevin Rhode Island District 02 $4,700 $6,500 Yes Filemon Vela Texas District 34 $4,000 $8,500 Yes Dina Titus Nevada District 01 $4,000 $6,000 Yes Barbara Lee California District 13 $3,738 $37,040 Yes Eliot L Engel New York District 16 $3,500 $53,700 Yes Steve Cohen Tennessee District 09 $3,500 $2,500 Yes Al Lawson Florida District 05 $3,500 $0 Yes Louise M Slaughter New York District 25 $3,500 $0 Yes Mark A Takano California District 41 $3,425 $4,010 Yes Hakeem Jeffries New York District 08 $3,000 $6,250 Yes Jerrold Nadler New York District 10 $3,000 $2,700 Yes Jamie Raskin Maryland District 08 $2,503 $11,107 Yes Bennie G Thompson Mississippi District 02 $2,500 $26,000 Yes David Cicilline Rhode Island District 01 $2,350 $7,000 Yes Jan Schakowsky Illinois District 09 $2,035 $500 Yes Nita M Lowey New York District 17 $2,003 $31,900 Yes Zoe Lofgren California District 19 $2,000 $18,600 Yes Grace Meng New York District 06 $2,000 $12,000 Yes Matt Cartwright Pennsylvania District 17 $2,000 $10,000 Yes Lucille Roybal-Allard California District 40 $2,000 $6,000 Yes Elijah E Cummings Maryland District 07 $2,000 $3,500 Yes Grace Napolitano California District 32 $1,500 $2,000 Yes Donald M Payne Jr. New Jersey District 10 $1,400 $16,000 Yes Jared Huffman California District 02 $1,100 $5,900 Yes John Sarbanes Maryland District 03 $1,050 $3,255 Yes David Price North Carolina District 04 $1,000 $24,250 Yes Albio Sires New Jersey District 08 $1,000 $8,000 Yes Marcy Kaptur Ohio District 09 $1,000 $2,750 Yes Vicente Gonzalez Texas District 15 $1,000 $0 Yes Eleanor Holmes Norton District of Columbia District 00 $750 $0 Yes Nanette Barragan California District 44 $413 $14,372 Yes Alcee L Hastings Florida District 20 $300 $2,000 Yes Mark Desaulnier California District 11 $130 $500 Yes Judy Chu California District 27 $0 $23,000 Yes Tim Ryan Ohio District 13 $0 $4,500 Yes Pramila Jayapal Washington District 07 $0 $3,834 Yes Sheila Jackson Lee Texas District 18 $0 $3,500 Yes Adriano Espaillat New York District 13 $0 $3,200 Yes Adam Schiff California District 28 $0 $1,000 Yes Al Green Texas District 09 $0 $1,000 Yes Pete Visclosky Indiana District 01 $0 $1,000 Yes Raul M Grijalva Arizona District 03 $0 $10 Yes Jose E Serrano New York District 15 $0 $0 Yes

Total amount shown includes donations to leadership PACs and campaign committees. Totals cover 2015-2016.

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Unsurprisingly, party leaders received the most contributions from the health industry in both houses.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-Ny.) led his caucus in donations from health insurance companies and ranks third in donations from pharmaceutical companies between 2011 and 2016. Schumer has not committed to supporting the bill.

House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) received the most donations from health insurance companies and second most from pharma in his caucus between 2015 and 2016 and does not support single-payer.

Nevertheless, some Democrats have chosen to defy the interests of their large donors, such as Sen. Cory Booker (D-Nj.) and House Caucus Chair Joseph Crowley (D-Ny.). Booker and Crowley are respectively the sixth and ninth most well-funded by pharma in their caucus but have cosponsored single-payer proposals.

Both industries that stand to lose from a government-run healthcare system gave record contributions to Democrats in the 2016 cycle and continue to support Senate Democrats in 2018. Notably, Pfizer donated $15,000 to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee shortly after 16 senators simultaneously backed single-payer, signalling an effort to influence the party.

Meanwhile, health insurer Centene, which donated around $1 million last cycle, is currently the top corporate donor of Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.). McCaskill told Politico last fall that she is not ready to support single-payer, but is being challenged by a primary opponent who does.

Congressional Democrats’ ties to the health insurance and pharmaceutical industries have long been tight. Former Democratic House Speaker Dick Gephardt of Missouri owns the lobbying firm Gephardt Group, which has lobbied on behalf of such clients as UnitedHealth Group and Bayer, its highest-paying client last year.

Gephardt was asked by The Intercept for his thoughts on the prospect of a single-payer system.



“Not in my lifetime,” he replied.

Follow these links to see the influence and lobbying profiles of the health insurance and pharmaceutical industries.



For permission to reprint for commercial uses, such as textbooks, contact the Center: Feel free to distribute or cite this material, but please credit the Center for Responsive Politics.For permission to reprint for commercial uses, such as textbooks, contact the Center: [email protected]





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