Technology companies poured millions into lobbying efforts in the last quarter of fiscal year 2017 to address issues related to health IT, according to filings due Monday and reported by Politico Morning eHealth newsletter.
Here is what eight companies spent on lobbying efforts for health IT last quarter, listed from most to least.
1. Google dished out $4.42 million on lobbying efforts for health data policy and opioid crisis response.
2. IBM's fourth quarter filing designated $1.75 million for health IT and other issues.
3. Apple spent $1.61 million to address issues such as regulating mobile medical applications and privacy.
4. athenahealth spent $190,000, with a chunk of the funds on behalf of topics related to ONC's role "in the marketplace pertaining to programs that impede private sector innovation."
5. Cerner paid one lobby $50,000 for health IT issues and another $70,000 for "Department of Veterans Affairs health information technology issues."
6. Epic, which enlists lobbyist Bradford Card, spent about $40,000 in the fourth quarter of 2017.
7. Monument Policy Group filed a termination report for Claim Your Health Data Coalition, which spent nearly $30,000 on lobbying related to "healthcare, IT and medical records," according to the filing reviewed by Politico.
8. Leidos paid lobbyists $10,000 to address EMR issues.
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