Bernstein, Ensign target soft spots

Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2000 | 11:15 a.m.

While U.S. Senate race combatants Ed Bernstein and John Ensign hurl barbs at each other their biggest targets have been health care companies and trial attorneys.

One cannot go five minutes without hearing Democrat Bernstein tie Republican Ensign to powerful health maintenance organizations and profitable drug companies.

The same goes for Ensign, who takes every chance he gets to complain about frivolous lawsuits, knowing his jabs score against an opponent who happens to be a personal injury attorney.

The candidates in essence have attacked each other's base of financial support, which is by no means novel in American politics.

"For the undecided voter it matters only if one side's group has more stigma than the other side," said Eric Herzik, political science professor at the University of Nevada, Reno. "That's why both candidates will try to describe these groups using the most negative terms.

"People, I guess, don't like HMOs because they see them as dictatorial. Trial lawyers have an image problem with the public, hence we have lawyer jokes."

Ensign received $183,700 from health care political action committees through mid-summer, according to the FECInfo Internet website. The only individuals who have received more from health care this election cycle were Rep. William Thomas, R-Calif., chairman of the House Ways and Means Health subcommittee ($252,304), and GOP Sens. James Jeffords of Vermont ($209,897), Orin Hatch of Utah ($208,965) and William Roth Jr. of Delaware ($189,102).

Ensign has even raised slightly more money this year from law-based PACs than has Bernstein by a margin of $16,425 to $12,000.

But Bernstein, who owns a law firm, has received at least $179,350 from individual attorneys, which is nearly one-third of the total contributions he has received from individuals this year. Ensign has nowhere near that type of support from attorneys.

The difference between Ensign's and Bernstein's financial supporters is reflected nationally. So far this election cycle, Republicans have received $8.4 million from health care PACs, compared to $6.2 million for Democrats. But Democrats have received $4.3 million from law-based PACs, compared to $2.9 million for the GOP. Those numbers, however, do not include individual contributions from health care professionals and lawyers.

That is why Bernstein says Ensign's health care proposals favor insurance and drug companies, and Ensign says Bernstein's plans would drive up health costs through litigation.

"Bernstein says Ensign has been bought by big insurance and the HMOs that you, the little guy, don't like," Herzik said. "Ed Bernstein is seen as an ambulance chaser, which makes him real vulnerable, and he's from the part of the legal profession held in the least regard."

Not surprisingly, both candidates defended their sources of campaign funding. Ensign, who was on the Ways and Means Health subcommittee during two terms in Congress, is a veterinarian who formed a task force in Nevada to help him create health care legislation.

His HMO donors include Nevada's Sierra Health Services and Pacificare Health Systems, and his drug company supporters include Pfizer Inc., Bristol-Myers Squibb, Bayer Corp. and Schering-Plough Corp. But Ensign's health care PAC money also has come from groups supporting physicians, anesthesiologists, optometrists, dentists, and occupational and physical therapists.

"One of the reasons I generate a lot of health care money is that I am very interested in health care issues," Ensign said. "I plan on being one of the leaders on health care in the Senate."

Bernstein, who is backed by the Association of Trial Lawyers of America, said he has received heavy support from fellow lawyers who share his belief in issues.

"When you look at individuals who care about the issues I care about, such as health care reform, protecting the environment and the right to choose (regarding abortions), a lot of them are lawyers," he said. "They are passionate about social issues."

Watching all this from a distance are trial lawyers and HMOs. Carlton Carl, spokesman for the trial lawyers association in Washington, D.C., said blaming attorneys for driving up health care costs with frivolous lawsuits, as Ensign has charged, was nonsense.

"There are always attacks on lawyers who represent injured people by candidates who are supported by the insurance industry and other special interests who seek corporate welfare protection from the people they hurt," Carl said.

"HMOs are the only entities not accountable for causing injuries or deaths to their customers."

But Marie Soldo, vice president of government affairs for Sierra Health Services in Las Vegas, said HMOs are already providing many of the services contained in patients' bill of rights legislation before Congress, including choice of physicians. Soldo also said it is better for all parties involved to have health care disputes resolved by independent oversight panels than to go through litigation.

"It's unthinkable that politicians have spent so much time demonizing health maintenance organizations as opposed to taking a broader view of health care," Soldo said. "We have the highest suicide rate of any state in the union, the highest uninsured population and the highest rate of teen-age pregnancies.

"Every time I get the opportunity I tell politicians we are in desperate need of a comprehensive health plan to resolve these problems."

Ensign favors medical and product liability reform that includes caps on punitive damages, and also said diverting more class action lawsuits to federal courts would reduce frivolous lawsuits.

He also called trial lawyers the nation's biggest special interest, and said Bernstein's financial support from attorneys represented hypocrisy because the Democrat vowed not to take money from "special interests."

"If you look at my campaign finance report, (Nevada Democrat) Sen. Harry Reid's report and (Democratic vice presidential candidate) Joe Lieberman's report, you'll see a lot of similarities," Ensign said. "Is Ed Bernstein calling these other guys bought and paid for?"

But Bernstein said Ensign continues to oppose bipartisan patients' bill of rights legislation opposed by HMOs, proof that Ensign is in the industry's pocket. Bernstein also said his support from lawyers did not equate to the "special interest" companies that back Ensign.

"I stand up for lawyers and doctors who want the right to sue HMOs," Bernstein said. "Special interests don't like lawyers because lawyers stand up to the special interests."