Rockefeller to Insurers: Where's The Loot?

Reps. Henry Waxman (D-CA) and Bart Stupak (D-MI) won headlines last week for kicking off an investigation into health insurance company excesses, and executive compensation in particular. But Sen. Jay Rockefeller has similar questions, and he's firing off some missives of his own.

"I am writing to request information about how your company spends the health insurance premiums it collects from consumers and businesses," read letters Rockefeller sent Friday to the chief executives of the nation's 15 top insurance companies. "I am particularly interested in determining the percentage of policyholders' premium dollars that your company uses to pay actual health care claims as compared to administrative costs and profits."

In addition to being the most reform-oriented member of the Senate Finance Committee, Rockefeller chairs the Senate Commerce Committee, which is conducting the investigation. Unlike Waxman and Stupak, who also want to know where all that non-medical money is going, Rockefeller has eschewed for now issues of excess such as executive compensation and company retreats. America's Health Insurance Plans--the industry's trade group--swiftly dismissed Waxman's inquiry as a fishing expedition, though Waxman requested responses in full by September 15. Let's see what they say to Rockefeller, who wants answers by September 8.

You can read a sample letter, sent to the CEO of UnitedHealth Group, here.