The Center for Public Integrity conducted a year-long investigation of
the decision-making processes of the U.S. government during its work
on health care reform. The results suggest that health care reform has
become the most heavily lobbied legislative initiative in recent U.S.
history. In 1993 and 1994, hundreds of special interests spent over $
100 million to influence the outcome of this public policy issue. In
Part III, the authors conclude their description of these special inte
rests, including political organizations, the elderly, labor, and publ
ic interest groups and foundations. The report concludes with a discus
sion of how the work of Congress is influenced by political contributi
ons to individual members of Congress and to the Democratic and Republ
ican parties, trips sponsored by the health care industry, and investm
ents held by members of Congress in health care-related industries.