(For full Reuters coverage of U.S. healthcare reform, click [ID:nN20512341]) * Health sector lobbying to top $500 million in 2009 -NEJM * Drug lobby group may reach $30 million spending record * Democrats rake in 59 percent of healthcare campaign cash * Sector favors Reid, Lincoln in Senate By Susan Heavey WASHINGTON, Nov 20 (Reuters) - It's not just spending on U.S. healthcare that's hitting record levels. Drugmakers, insurers and industry groups are on track to spend an all-time high of more than $500 million this year to influence Congress' revamp of the U.S. healthcare system. Lobbyists for the healthcare sector will likely smash previous spending records by tens of millions of dollars this year as Democratic lawmakers attempt to reshape the industry by expanding coverage and shaving costs. "If current trends continue, the health sector is likely to spend more than a half-billion dollars on lobbying in 2009," said The New England Journal of Medicine's Dr. Robert Steinbrook. As Congress makes a final push for a bill to overhaul the $2.5 trillion healthcare system that fuels one-sixth of the U.S. economy, health companies and industry groups both for and against various proposals are trying to shape the outcome. The Senate is headed for a test vote on Saturday that will determine if it can proceed to three weeks of floor debate followed by a final vote on an $849 billion, 10-year bill. The House of Representatives has already approved its $1 trillion version of healthcare reform. Differences between the two bills would have to be reconciled in a potentially long negotiation process, and lobbyists have been jockeying for time with members of Congress and their staff. Lawmakers, especially Democratic Senators up for re-election next year, have also seen a flood of campaign donations from hospitals, devicemakers and others with billions at stake. $400 MILLION IN NINE MONTHS The healthcare sector, which spent $486 million on lobbying in 2008, spent nearly $400 million through September of this year, according to the non-profit group Center for Responsive Politics. For drugmakers, always among the top spenders in Washington, reform could mean higher sales because more Americans will have insurance coverage to pay for medications. Drug companies such as Pfizer Inc <PFE.N>, Merck & Co Inc <MRK.N> and others spent a combined $237 million on lobbying last year, an amount they nearly surpassed in the first three quarters of 2009. "They're on pace to obliterate their totals ... due to health reform undoubtedly," said Dave Levinthal, a spokesman for Center for Responsive Politics. So is the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America. The powerful group, which represents big drugmakers, is on track to spend more than $30 million this year, Levinthal said. "It should come as no surprise to anyone that we stepped up our efforts this year," said Ken Johnson, senior vice president of the group which backs most of the Democrats' measures and cemented a $80 billion, 10-year deal of rebates and discounts to help pay for it. "We have a lot at stake right now. We're talking about fundamentally changing our healthcare system," Johnson said. Insurers such as UnitedHealth Group Inc <UNH.N> and WellPoint Inc <WLP.N> ramped up spending to oppose Democrats' plan to create a public insurance option that could rival private plans. "In all cases, these would be record annual expenditures," said the New England Journal of Medicine's Steinbrook. POLITICAL DONATIONS FAVOR DEMOCRATS Like many other U.S. industries, the healthcare sector has generally favored Republican candidates in doling out political campaign cash in recent years. But that trend changed in the 2008 election that ushered Democrat Barack Obama in the White House with his party controlling the House and the Senate. The industry gave 54 percent of its political contributions to Democrats in the 2008 cycle, up from 37 percent just two years earlier, according to data from the Center for Responsive Politics. For the cycle under way ahead of next year's mid-term elections, 59 percent has gone to Democrats. "They're trying to influence the people who have the power," said Josh Israel, a campaign finance expert at the nonprofit investigative group The Center for Public Integrity. In the Senate, political contributions are piling up behind a number of Democrats, especially those facing tough 2010 election fights such as Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada and Democrat Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas. Reid has received $615,675 this year ahead of next November's vote, according Federal Election Commission data collected by the Center for Responsive Politics. Lincoln, one of a handful of conservative Democrats who hold crucial votes in the healthcare debate, has taken in $474,950 so far. And even though the House has already passed its reform bill, healthcare companies are likely to keep up the pressure given House Democrats' slim 220-215 victory on the measure. Every House member is also up for re-election next year. "The people who have an opinion on either side of this are still going to be pressing the House either way," said Israel. "There's going to be some sort of give-and-take." (Editing by Mohammad Zargham)
