The top five heavy hitters in health care this year work in the White House or on Capitol Hill, followed by many of K Street's biggest influencers, according to Modern Healthcare's 2009 list of the 100 most powerful people in health care.

Last year, the magazine listed leaders in the technology sector as its top three, but this year reform efforts in Washington have dominated the attention of the industry.

President Obama is ranked No. 1, followed by his health care gurus, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Nancy-Ann DeParle, director of the White House Office of Health Reform. Filling out the top five are Senate Finance Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., and ranking member Charles Grassley, R-Iowa.

A little further down the list are CEOs, presidents and executives from a host of the top-spending interest and advocacy groups: Andy Stern of Service Employees International Union; James Guest of the Consumers Union; Billy Tauzin of Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America; Richard Umbdenstock of the American Hospital Association; Karen Ignagni of America's Health Insurance Plans; Chip Kahn of the Federation of American Hospitals; Scott Serota of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association; James Rohack and Michael Maves of the American Medical Association; and John Rother of AARP.

Under the Influence has been profiling the top players in the health care reform discussion.

Read the rest of Modern Healthcare's list here (subscribers only).