| Purpose | oppose laws which would stop surprise billing in the US medical system and cutting pay and benefits for emergency room doctors and other medical workers |
|---|---|
| Funding | private equity firms Blackstone (owner of TeamHealth) and KKR (owner of Envision Healthcare) |
Doctor Patient Unity is corporate lobbying front group funded by private equity firm owned doctor staffing companies to oppose laws to stop surprise billing in the US medical system.[1][2] The group is funded by Blackstone (owner of TeamHealth) and KKR (owner of Envision Healthcare) and has spent more than $57 million on advertisements opposing the legislation to restrict surprise billing, at the same time cutting pay and benefits for emergency room doctors and other medical workers.[3][4] The primary aim of the group is to stop The House Energy and Commerce Committee's No Surprises Act (HR 3630) and the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee's Lower Health Care Costs Act (S 1895).[3][5] The group's tactics include targeting specific lawmakers who are standing for reelection in 2020 including Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.),[6] Rep. Dan Kildee (D-Mich.) and Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) and fearmongering.[7][8]
References[edit]
- ^ Sanger-Katz, Margot; Creswell, Julie; Abelson, Reed (2019-09-13). "Mystery Solved: Private-Equity-Backed Firms Are Behind Ad Blitz on 'Surprise Billing'". New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-05-08.
- ^ Arnsdorf, Isaac. "Medical Staffing Companies Cut Doctors' Pay While Spending Millions…". ProPublica. Retrieved 2020-05-09.
- ^ a b "'Surprise' billing 101: Inside Congress' epic fight over out-of-network billing". www.advisory.com. Retrieved 2020-05-08.
- ^ "Mystery Group Puts $13 Million Into Ads on Surprise Health Bills (2)". Bloomberg Government. Retrieved 2020-05-09.
- ^ Markay, Sam Brodey|Lachlan (2019-09-06). "Congress is Poised to Stop Surprise Medical Billing. Now a Shady Interest Group is Trying to Tank It". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 2020-05-08.
- ^ McLeod, Paul. "Here's How Private Equity Firms Targeted Republican Sen. John Cornyn With Dark Money To Preserve Surprise Medical Billing". Buzzfeed News.
- ^ Roubein, Rachel. "Health groups backed dark money campaign to sink 'surprise' billing fix". POLITICO. Retrieved 2020-05-08.
- ^ "Secretive front group targets vulnerable senators with $2.3M ad blitz over surprise medical bills fight". OpenSecrets. 2019-08-06.