Election 2008 — Campaign Contributions, Lobbying, and the U.S. Health Sector
Aside from the war in Iraq, health care has been the most important issue for the U.S. public in the early phase of the 2008 presidential campaign, ranking higher than both immigration and the economy.
Indeed, a majority of the U.S. population thinks that the federal government "should guarantee health insurance for all Americans," particularly children.
Americans would be willing to pay higher taxes to make changes possible, although, like politicians, they disagree about whether participation in a national health care plan should be required and whether the government or private insurers would do a better job of providing coverage…
…For the first half of 2007, Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton, senator from New York and the leading fund-raiser, collected $63.1 million, of which $1.7 million, or 2.7%, was from the health sector (see table). Senator Barack Obama of Illinois, the second-leading fund-raiser among the Democratic candidates, collected $58.9 million; $1.2 million, or 2.1%, was from the health sector. Republican candidate Mitt Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts and the leading Republican fund-raiser, collected $44.4 million, including $1.4 million, or 3.1%, from the health sector. Rudolph Giuliani, the second-leading fund-raiser among the Republican candidates and the former mayor of New York City, raised $35.6 million, including nearly $900,000, or 2.5%, from the health sector. Republican candidate Tommy Thompson of Wisconsin, who was the secretary of health and human services from 2001 to 2005, received the highest percentage of funds from the health sector — 6.1% — but he raised less than $900,000 overall….
http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/357/8/736
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