Tracking the spending
How California Healthline compiled data about dialysis companies’ political spending:
Among the ways dialysis companies exert inf luence on the political process are contributing money to campaigns, hiring lobbyists and paying for advertising and marketing on behalf of candidates.
■ Opposition to ballot measures: Using the California secretary of state’s website, California Healthline downloaded the contributions made by DaVita, Fresenius Medical Care North America, U. S. Renal Care, Satellite Healthcare, Dialysis Clinic Inc. and American Renal Management to the campaign committees formed to defeat Propositions 8 and 23. This includes some non- monetary contributions.
■ Lobbying: We created a spreadsheet of expenses reported on lobbying disclosure forms, also available on the secretary of State’s website, by DaVita, Fresenius, U. S. Renal Care, Satellite Healthcare and the California Dialysis Council. We found details about how much the industry paid lobbying firms, what agencies it lobbied and which bills it tracked.
■ Political contributions: DaVita, Fresenius, U. S. Renal Care and the California Dialysis Council made direct contributions to more than 100 candidates, which we compiled from the secretary of State’s website. DaVita and Fresenius made other contributions, often large, to Democratic and Republican committees, and ballot measure committees led by lawmakers. The two companies also made contributions known as “independent expenditures” that benefited candidates’ campaigns and “behested payments,” which are donations to nonprofit organizations and charities in lawmakers’ names. Behested payments are disclosed on the California Fair Political Practices Commission website.
■ The SEIU- United Health Care West union uses two political committees for its giving. Its PAC contributes mostly to lawmakers and county and state Democratic parties while its Issues Committee gives to local hospital ballot measures. We did not tally spending for local hospital ballot measures for this story, but we did include contributions made by the Issues Committee to the California Democratic Party, which helps state lawmakers.