• H.R. 1647/S. 399, To amend Title XIX of the Social Security Act to include podiatrists as physicians for purposes of covering physician services under the Medicaid Program; Reimbursement and accreditation issues related to DME and physician payment; Legislation pertaining to Section 1861 (r) of the Social Security Act; H.R. 6331 Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act.

Duration: January 1, 2007 to December 31, 2008

General Issues: Medicare/Medicaid, Health Issues

Spending: about $70,000 (But it's complicated. Here's why.)

It can be tricky to figure out how much an organization spent on a particular lobbying engagement. The law only requires lobbyists to report the amount they were paid for federal lobbying each quarter rounded to the nearest $10,000—and if it's less than $3,000 in a given quarter (or less than $13,000 for organizations with in-house lobbyists), they don't have to disclose it at all. Plus, some organizations include spending that doesn’t belong in the report—for instance, money spent lobbying state governments or other legal work.

Agencies lobbied since 2007: House of Representatives, U.S. Senate, Y Y