Kentucky hospital group urges members to donate in governor race to ‘assure access’
There is an unwritten rule in politics that if an interest group would like access to a politician, they first need to donate to his campaign.
The Kentucky Hospital Association spelled that rule out in an email last Friday, in which the vice president of member engagement asked members to attend a fundraiser for Democratic candidate Andy Beshear this week in an effort to make sure the organization’s members don’t overwhelmingly back Gov. Matt Bevin.
“It is important the hospital sector show appropriate support for each candidate in this election,” wrote Bud Warman. “We raised over $30,000 for Matt Bevin and currently have only raised $4,500 for Andy Beshear, which has largely come from KHA staff. We cannot predict the outcome of the election but we can assure (sic) access to the winner with a strong show of support for each candidate.”
The email goes on to say certificates of need — a requirement to prevent people from opening new health care facilities unless they can prove there is a need for the services — are under attack and that the hospital association needs to “assure (sic) access to our political leaders.”
The Kentucky Hospital Association did not return a call from the Herald-Leader seeking comment. The group recommended a donation of $250 or more to Beshear’s campaign and said attendance at a Tuesday fundraiser in Louisville was “strongly encouraged.”
Money has long played a prominent role in politics and the Kentucky Hospitals Association is one of the biggest spenders in Frankfort. According to the Legislative Ethics Commission, the group had spent $169,596 through September 24 lobbying the state legislature this year, the third most of any group.
Although businesses and organizations have long had to publicly disclose how much they spend lobbying the legislative branch of state government, they did not have to begin making similar disclosures for executive branch lobbying until this summer, when a new state law went into effect.
The Kentucky Hospital Association employs two lobbyists focused on the executive branch, according to the Executive Branch Ethics Commission.
The plea to give Beshear more money is also indicative of the tight contest for governor. Despite being the incumbent governor in an increasingly Republican state, Bevin’s divisive comments about his political opponents as he attempted to tackle the state’s pension crisis isolated many of his supporters. Both campaigns have said private polling shows them with a lead in the race.
Bevin has raised more than $2.4 million in the general election so far and Beshear has raised more than $2.8 million, according to the Kentucky Registry for Election Finance. But Bevin, a multi-millionaire, has the ability to drop a significant amount of his own money into his campaign at any time, forcing Beshear to focus heavily on fundraising.
Beshear’s campaign said the Kentucky Hospital Association’s money would not guarantee access to his office.
“That might be how Matt Bevin’s administration works, but it is not how Andy leads,” said Sam Newton, Beshear’s communication director. “Andy has also released a comprehensive ethics reform plan that details how he will make sure Frankfort is working for Kentucky families. We hope the association clarifies their email.”
When asked if donating to the governor guarantees access to his office, Bevin campaign manager Davis Paine avoided the question and instead criticized Beshear.
“From day one, Gov. Bevin established the strongest ethics rules of any administration in Kentucky history,” Paine said. “Andy Beshear’s own deputy is in prison, and Beshear would take us back to the good ol’ boy politics of pay-to-play insider dealing of the past.”
This story was originally published September 30, 2019 at 4:51 PM.