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Insurance companies at it again

Posted by: Erin Kelly on Jan 14, 2010

Yesterday afternoon, the National Journal published an article stating that health insurers have been funding ads by the Chamber of Commerce. While that may not seem like breaking news, consider the goal of these ads: They are part of an effort to kill reform.

According to the article,

Just as dealings with the Obama administration and congressional Democrats soured last summer, six of the nation's biggest health insurers began quietly pumping big money into third-party television ads aimed at killing or significantly modifying the major health reform bills moving through Congress.

Here's how it worked: A powerful trade group called America's Health Insure Plans (AHIP) solicited funds from insurance giants like Cigna, WellPoint, and Aetna. AHIP then used the money to pay the Chamber of Commerce for ads attacking health reform.

AHIP acted as a third-party paying for the ads so the insurance companies could avoid any criticism directed at them for running the ads-like they received in the 1990s after the Harry and Louise campaign.

While it's not necessarily surprising, it is nothing short of underhanded. AHIP President Karen Ignani has repeatedly stated that insurance companies support efforts for reform, but it turns out it's a little more complicated than that:

In late October, Ignagni wrote in a letter to the Washington Post defending a health insurer-funded study critical of congressional cost estimates, "Let me be clear and direct, health plans continue to strongly support reform." However, by that time money was already flowing through AHIP to the chamber to fund its negative ads.

The ads that ran criticized the bills-especially the one in the House. They ran under the name of two business coalitions: the Campaign for Responsible Health Reform and Employers for a Healthy Economy.

The White House reacted yesterday via its blog:

It's no surprise that the insurance companies who profit from the broken status quo would oppose fixing the system. After all, reform will end insurance industry practices like denying coverage based on preexisting conditions, capping total benefits, and dropping coverage when you get sick and need it most. But this article should serve as an important reminder of the powerful forces standing in the way of change and of whose bidding opponents of reform are doing.