After nearly a year of debate, months of negotiations and major lobbying blitzes, the U.S. Senate on Christmas Eve passed their version of the major health insurance reform legislation. The final vote was 60-39. All 60 members of the Democratic caucus voted in favor of the plan, while no Republican senators backed the bill.

Sen. Jim Bunning (R-Ky.), who opposed the Democrats' legislation, was absent and did not vote. In a rare move, Vice President Joe Biden, in his role as president of the Senate, presided over the chamber. Many observers watched the senators cast their votes, including Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.), the sponsor of the health insurance reform bill passed by the House.

Senators who opposed the bill received an average of nearly 30 percent more political donations from political action committees and individual employees of health and health insurance-related groups and companies since 1989, a Center for Responsive Politics analysis has found.

Since 1989, Republican senators who voted against the bill received an average of $1.67 million from PACs and individual employees associated with health insurers and health-related organizations, groups and trade associations, CRP found. Democratic senators who supported the bill, meanwhile, received an average of $1.29 million from these interests since 1989.

Republican lawmakers, on average, collected significantly more cash from medical professionals, health insurers and pharmaceutical manufacturers -- groups that often fought proposed reforms during the past year (as well as reform proposals during previous Congresses), as Capital Eye outlined in its “Diagnosis: Reform” series this summer.

The Center for Responsive Politics found that Republican senators who opposed the bill collected an average of 41 percent more from medical professionals, an average of 41 percent more from pharmaceutical and health product companies and an average of 28 percent more from health and accident insurers than their Democratic counterparts.

Additionally, the Center for Responsive Politics found that Democratic lawmakers who backed the health care reform plan received an average of 1,000 percent more campaign cash from PACs and individual employees of labor unions, which have vocally lobbied in favor of reforming health care.

Since 1989, Democratic senators who supported the measure received an average of $893,200 from PACs and individual employees of labor unions, CRP found. Republican senators who opposed the legislation, meanwhile, received an average of just $79,250 from labor interest over the same time.

(Download the full list for yourself here. If you use these data, please be sure to credit CRP: SenateHealthVoteData.xls)

The Center found that the average ratio of money from labor interests versus health-related interests for Democratic senators was 0.69-to-1. The ratio for Republican senators was approximately 0.05-to-1.

That is, Democrats have received an average of 70 cents from labor interests for every dollar they have collected from health-related interests, while Republicans, on average, have raised about a nickel from labor for every dollar they raise from employees and PACs affiliated with health insurers and health-related companies, trade associations and groups.

At the high end of this spectrum, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), a self-identified socialist who caucuses with the Democrats, has received nearly nine times as much money from labor interests compared to health care and health insurance interests: about $1.3 million compared to $146,400, CRP has found. Sanders is a long-time supporter of a single-payer health care system and raised concerns during recent weeks that the Senate bill might not adequately protect consumers. He ultimately voted in favor of the proposal.

Some of the lowest ratios of money from labor versus money from health-related interests are associated with several of the Democratic caucus’ conservative members, including Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-Conn.), who was among the last senators to sign onto the compromise deal worked out in the Senate. Lieberman has received roughly $5 from health-related interests for every $1 he has received from labor interests, CRP found.

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