A loophole in nonprofit law means that corporate lobbying is at least double the official figure
Nonprofits are only required to itemize their “other fees for services” if they account for more than 10 percent of their total functional expenses, which offers some trade associations an additional avenue for secrecy. For example, since the American Hospital Association listed more than $126 million in total functional expenses in 2017, it didn’t need to spell out any of the items included in its $12 million line for “other fees for services.” Last year, the health care industry launched the Partnership for America’s Health Care Future, or PAHCF, a 501(c)(4) dark-money organization, to oppose growing momentum for Medicare for All or more limited reforms. The PAHCF membership page features more than two dozen trade organizations, including AHIP, PhRMA, the American College of Radiology, and the Federation of American Hospitals, the trade organization for investor-owned facilities. In February, the federation’s CEO, Chip Kahn, took credit for coming up with the idea of forming PAHCF, according to Modern Healthcare. But while the American College of Radiology Association’s 2018 tax return lists a $300,000 grant to PAHCF, the Federation of American Hospitals didn’t disclose any contributions to PAHCF last year. It did, however, report spending more than $800,000 on “advocacy.”
Business Group Spending on Lobbying in Washington Is at Least Double What’s Publicly Reported [Andrew Perez, Abigail Luke and Tim Zelina/The Intercept]