To date, Automated Healthcare Solutions and other companies owned by their principals have donated over $3 million to various politicians, campaigns, and political organizations. Automated Healthcare Solutions and their sister companies are heavily involved in physician dispensing to workers comp patients in Florida and other states.
The actual number is $3,224,076 since 2002, coming from dozens of companies that are affiliated with or managed by AHCS’ principals, with big dollar donations to committees backing current Senate President, MIke Haridopolous and House Speaker Dean Cannon.
Haridopolous’ and Cannon’s committees each received at least $350,000.
The research was done by the Florida Independent’s Virginia Chamlee, who details the various companies and political donations in her piece on Automated Healthcare Solutions. Chamlee’s piece is the first to provide a full picture of the political donations of AHCS’ principals Zimmerman and Glass, and the $3.2 million total shows clearly just how important Florida is to dispensing companies and their affiliates.
If you are thinking this isn’t a big deal – you aren’t thinking. Physician dispensing increases Florida workers comp premiums by 2.5%. That added cost will disappear if Senate bill 668 passes and is signed into law, but the contributions and political muscle of AHCS and their allies are making that look increasingly doubtful.
SB668 is out of one committee in the Senate, but things get tougher from here. There’s no question Sen Haridopolous has gotten an earful from those who are profiting from physician dispensing, and as the Senate’s boss, he has a lot of influence.
Now he needs to hear from those who are paying the tab.
Send Sen Haridopolous an email, copy Sen Alan Hays, the Senator who is backing the bill to limit the cost of physician dispensed drugs – not ban physician dispensing, but limit the cost to what you’d pay for the same drug at a retail pharmacy.
and send me a copy too.
Tell Sen Haridopolous:
– Florida’s employers can’t afford to enrich a select few who get most of the dollars from physician dispensing.
– If he’s serious about getting the State’s economy back on track, he’ll help employers cut their costs
– if he’s serious about helping taxpayers, he’ll stop backing physician dispensing which adds to their bills while forcing schools, police and fire departments to lay off workers to pay the inflated bills of physician dispensers.
What does this mean for you?
Time to get active, or don’t complain when SB668 is defeated and your costs go up even more.
Jan
30
Joe,
Following the money always helps. Is there any provision in SB 668 that would compel insurance carriers to lower premiums by 2.5%? How long would you expect it to take for employers to realize these savings in their premium quotes?
Joe,
Be Fair. The Drug makers and PBM,s are the largest political donors in this country.The drug companies donate hundreds of millions of dollars to shape legislation to keep drug prices high.
Jeffrey – thanks for the comment.
I’d agree that pharma is a very large donor, however the PBM industry is pretty small potatoes, and the work comp PBM industry – which, with one exception, is entirely separate and distinct from the group health/CMS PBM world, is an insignificant donor on either the federal or state levels.
remember we’re talking about donations in one state for one issue, and there’s no doubt who has the financial power here – the repackaging and physician dispensing companies and the people they enrich with taxpayer and employer dollars.
Paduda