health industry

When Sen. Kay Hagan (NC-D) announced earlier this month -- after months of vacillation -- her support for a health care reform bill that included a "public option" to compete with private insurance, advocates of reform were thrilled.

Not so happy: Key forces in the health industry who are still fighting bitterly -- and have spent millions of dollars in lobbying, advocacy and contributions to key politicians -- to preserve the status quo.

Newly-released federal campaign finance records reveal the intense interest health industry leaders have focused on Sen. Hagan, a first-year senator sitting on a key committee crafting the reform legislation.

Last week, Jane Hamsher at Firedoglake reported that Democratic plans to push for a "public option" for health care reform -- a publicly-financed plan to compete with private insurance -- were hitting an unexpectedly difficult wall: newly-elected Sen. Kay Hagan of North Carolina.