The American Pharmacists Association is turning outside for lobbying help as legislators debate overhauling the health-care system.
Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal registered the association as a client yesterday, and will be lobbying on health-care issues.
The group has typically done its own lobbying, but has filed termination notices for two in-house lobbyists within the past year. Currently, it has two people registered to lobby on its behalf. Kristina Lunner, vice president of government affairs for the American Pharmacists Association, said the group needed outside help because of the vacant positions.
"We needed to have boots on the ground" during the health care debate, she said.
The association's team at Sonnenschein includes two senior managing directors of the firm's public law and policy strategies practice: Ronald Platt, a longtime Democrat who once worked for former Sen. Lloyd Bentsen (D-Texas), among others, and Sander Lurie, a former chief of staff to Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.).
The association's "Pharmacy Principles for Health Care Reform" call, in part, for any overhaul to include coverage for pharmacists who provide services such as immunizations directly to patients, as well as providing pharmacists electronic access to patient information, including diagnoses.
Comments