College of American Pathologists
This medical society represents 17,000 pathologists, who study and diagnose diseases.

What They Want
Not surprisingly, the group is concerned with the "emerging role for pathologists in this system that's going to be reformed," said John Scott, vice president of advocacy.

They support the coordinated care model, which encourages communication between health care providers instead of the current fragmentary system, and hope to develop a pilot program to test the impact of bringing pathologists more proactively into health care decisions.

"When you get more and more people covered, there will naturally be an increase in the volume of testing," Scott said. "In addition to that, the science behind the testing has become more and more complex." Pathologists, he went on, are vital to ensuring "patients get the right tests at the right time."

The group also wants to eliminate the loopholes in self-referral policies that allow physicians to refer a patient to imaging services such as an MRI in which they have a financial interest. And they want to ensure that the physician payment system moves away from the sustainable growth rate system, which ties Medicare payments to doctors to the growth of the economy rather than health care costs.

As physicians receive federal incentives to go into primary care, the pathologists don't want to see the government "just taking money out of the overall physician pie" to pay for the bonuses, Scott said.

Deal Breakers
The group does not strictly oppose any proposals at this point, Scott said, but it is concerned about the structure of the clinical laboratory fees and physician service fees included in the Senate Finance Committee proposal. They feel it is "not fair" to "lump in" the two fees, Scott said.

How Much They've Spent
The College of American Pathologists spent $775,717 on lobbying activities in the first six months of 2009, according to disclosure forms. In the first half of 2008, the group did not report any spending on lobbying activities.

The group's PAC has contributed $283,679 to federal candidates and committees during this cycle, according to Federal Election Commission records. Of contributions to candidates, 56 percent have gone to Democrats and 44 percent have gone to Republicans. Recipients include House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and the congressional and senatorial campaign committees of both parties. During the 2008 election cycle, the PAC donated about $1 million to federal candidates and committees.

The organization's total revenue for 2007 was $148.1 million, according to IRS forms.

Key Players
Scott (right) and other members of the group's lobbying team have held numerous meetings on Capitol Hill -- most recently with staff for the Senate Finance Committee to discuss the clinical laboratory fee -- and with White House officials. But the group's emphasis has been on getting member pathologists to talk to their representatives about the reform they think is needed from the delivery-side perspective.

"We've had probably 80 doctors in here over the last six weeks talking to different members of Congress," Scott said.

Scott heads up the group's team of five registered lobbyists, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Jared Schwartz, president, and Charles Roussel, executive vice president, are not registered lobbyists.

Links
The College's Health Care Page
Their Health Care Reform Agenda