Hospital group cancels Beshear fundraiser after saying donation would ‘assure access’

The Kentucky Hospital Association canceled a fundraiser for the gubernatorial campaign of Attorney General Andy Beshear a day after the Herald-Leader reported it was urging members to donate in an effort to “assure access” to whoever wins the race for governor in November.

In an email sent to members Tuesday, Kentucky Hospital Association President Nancy Galvagni said the fundraiser had been canceled “by agreement of the Association and the candidate.” On Monday, the newspaper had quoted an email in which the KHA asked its members to give money to Beshear because the organization had raised $30,000 for Gov. Mat Bevin but only $4,500 for Beshear.

“The email in question poorly communicated an invitation to participate in a fundraiser and the message of the email does not reflect the values of the KHA or its members,” Galvagni wrote. “The email was not reviewed and approved through proper internal channels and the Association is taking internal action to address this matter.”

The Kentucky Hospital Association did not return a call from the Herald-Leader Tuesday seeking comment.

The email was sent Friday by Bud Warman, the vice president in charge of member engagement.

“We cannot predict the outcome of the election but we can assure access to the winner with a strong show of support for each candidate,” Warman wrote.

The Kentucky Hospital Association is one of the biggest spenders in Frankfort. As of September 24, they had spent more than $169,000 lobbying the Kentucky legislature this year, the third highest total of any group.

Sam Newton, a spokesman for Beshear, said the Kentucky Hospital Association canceled the fundraiser Tuesday morning.

“While donating to Matt Bevin might win special favor, that’s not how Andy leads,” Newton said. “He’ll always do right by Kentuckians and that means fighting to protect and expand access to affordable health care.”

Bevin’s campaign said the governor has implemented the “strongest ethics rules of any administration in Kentucky history” and that Beshear would bring Kentucky back to the “pay-to-play insider dealing of the past.”

This story was originally published October 1, 2019 at 2:35 PM.