Senator Ben Nelson and His Connections
to the Health Care Industry

a report from
Public Campaign Action Fund

 

released May 7, 2009

Introduction

On May 1, 2009 Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson came out against including a public health insurance plan option as part of this year’s health care reform legislation. Sen. Nelson called the inclusion of a public plan a “deal-breaker,” according to Congressional Quarterly.1 [0]

Seemingly chastened by criticism about his opposition to significant health care reform, Sen. Nelson issued a series of “health principles” this week.2 [0] The elements of his proposal mirrored what had recently been proposed by America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), the leading lobbying group for the insurance industry.

These negative comments about the best way to bring about comprehensive health reform, and his parroting the insurance lobby’s line, should come as no surprise given Sen. Nelson’s background, his campaign fundraising, and his other connections to the insurance industry.

This short report describes some of the pertinent information regarding Sen. Nelson’s background and connections to the health care and insurance industries.

BIOGRAPHY

Before entering politics, Ben Nelson spent his career as an insurance executive, insurance company lawyer and, early in his career, Nebraska’s state insurance regulator. He was chief executive officer of an insurance company and has sided with and received political support from business groups opposed to a public health plan as part of health reform.

• “Nelson enjoyed a successful career in insurance law,” says his Senate website. “He has served as CEO of the Central National Insurance Group, as chief of staff and executive vice president of the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, and as director of the Nebraska Department of Insurance.”3
  [0]
  
• In his 2006 re-election campaign, Nelson received endorsements from the National Federation of Independent Business, the Business-Industry Political Action Committee, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. According to the Lincoln Journal Star, “NFIB jointed BIPAC (Business-Industry Political Action Committee) and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce in handing the Democratic senator strong business support.”4 [0] These lobbies are either publicly opposed to a public insurance option, or are expected to be.
  

CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTIONS

Sen. Nelson has depended on the insurance and health care industries to pay for his campaigns for public office.5 [0]

• According to the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics, Sen. Nelson has raised more than $2 million from insurance and health care interests in his three campaigns for federal office.
  
  
• Sen. Nelson has received $1,195,299 from insurance interests, $399,345 from health professionals, $258,483 from the pharmaceutical industry, and $195,138 from hospital and nursing home interests.
  
  
•  Of Sen. Nelson’s campaign contributions from the insurance and health care industries, 83.4% have come from out of state sources, according to our analysis of data downloaded from the Center for Responsive Politics.
  
  
• His lifetime campaign contributions from the insurance industry rank him fourth in the Senate, but only behind three others who have run for president (Sens. McCain, Kerry, and Dodd).
  
  
• Political action committees and employees of Blue Cross Blue Shield’s companies and trade groups have given $59,523, ranking them fourth on Sen. Nelson’s all-time giver list.
  
  
• Other top donors include a Who’s Who of health industry interests:

• According to an invitation posted by the website Political Party Time, two lobbyists for the Normandy Group – both with multiple health care clients – hosted a fundraising event for Sen. Nelson on July 17, 2008.6 [0]
  

REVOLVING DOOR

Sen. Nelson’s former staffers include four who have gone through the revolving door.

• David Di Martino, Sen. Nelson’s former communications director, now works as a public relations specialist for BGR Holdings, a significant lobbying firm in Washington. A review of BGR Holdings current clients reveals a long list of prominent pharmaceutical, HMO and nursing-home industry clients. In the first quarter of 2009 alone, Di Martino’s employer received at least $330,000 in lobbying fees from pharmaceutical interests, $430,000 from hospital and nursing-home interests, and $50,000 from the health plan industry.7 [0]
  
  
• Kurtis Morrison, a former senior aide for Sen. Nelson, left the Senate office in 2004 to become a lobbyist for B&D Sagamore, where Morrison was listed as a register lobbyist on the firm’s WellPoint Inc. account. The health insurance giant paid the lobbying firm $480,000 from 2004 to 2005 for its services while Morrison was listed as a lobbyist for them.8 [0]
  
  
• Amy Tejral, who was Sen. Nelson’s legislative director for five years, is a partner with the lobbying firm Avenue Solutions. The firm’s clients include a number of major insurance companies, including Aetna Inc., the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association and UnitedHealth. In the first quarter of 2009, Avenue Solutions received $380,000 from health care interests, including $60,000 from the Healthcare Leadership Council, an organization of CEOs from the health insurance and pharmaceutical industries.9 [0]
  
  
• Sen. Nelson’s congressional staff includes a former health care lobbyist. Michael Hogan, a former lobbyist for the Society of Thoracic Surgeons, was hired in June 2008 as Sen. Nelson’s deputy chief of staff.10 [0]
  

CONNECTIONS TO SCANDAL-PLAGUED LOBBYING FIRM

Sen. Nelson also is connected to disgraced – and now disbanded – lobbying firm PMA Group.

• The PMA Group closed its doors earlier this year after the FBI began investigating campaign contributions from the firm’s executives and their families to members of Congress who obtained lucrative earmarks for defense contractors that had hired PMA Group.
  
  
• According to the Center for Responsive Politics, Sen. Nelson received $31,350 in campaign contributions from PMA Group’s PAC and its employees.
  
  
• PMA Group, while known as a defense and earmark lobbying shop, also had $770,000 worth of health care lobbying business in 2008 and 2009 before closing its doors.11 [0]

http://bennelson.senate.gov/news/details.cfm?id=312435&& [1], accessed May 6, 2009.
http://bennelson.senate.gov/about/biography.cfm [2], accessed May 3, 2009.
http://www.journalstar.com/articles/2006/05/30/local/doc447cbf008219e179974789.txt [3].
http://www.opensecrets.org [4], accessed May 3-4, 2009.
http://politicalpartytime.org/party/2082/ [5], accessed May 4, 2009.
7. Center for Responsible Politics website, http://www.opensecrets.org [6], accessed May 3, 2009.
http://www.opensecrets.org/lobby/firmsum.php?lname=Avenue+Solutions&year=2009 [7], Accessed May 4, 2009; National Journal, December 13, 2008.
10. National Journal, June 16, 2008; Legistorm website, http://www.legistorm.com/member/74/Sen_Ben_Nelson.html [8], accessed May 4, 2009.
http://www.opensecrets.org [9], accessed May 4, 2009.