Health Care

GOP Turns To K Street Veterans To Help Unravel Health Care Law

Brian Beutler | December 27, 2010, 2:53PM

House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) with members of the GOP leadership

House Republicans are turning to old friends on K Street to lead their legislative attempts to repeal the new health care law.

Three recently hired Republican aides -- two set to work in senior positions on the powerful Energy and Commerce Committee, and one for soon-to-be Speaker John Boehner -- spent the past years lobbying on behalf of insurance companies, pharmaceutical manufacturers, and other corporate interest groups with a vested interest in weakening or repealing the law.

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Chamber of Commerce

Chamber's Anti Health Care Advocacy Financed By Insurers, Big-Dollar Contributions

Brian Beutler | November 19, 2010, 2:25PM

A still from the ad "Afford" by Employers For A Healthy Economy

In 2009, a single $86.2 million contribution from the health insurance industry's largest trade association, AHIP, accounted for almost half of the Chamber of Commerce's total contributions. Much of that money was dedicated to the Chamber's then-escalating campaign against the health care reform bill -- a campaign the Chamber characterized as an advocacy effort on behalf of the broader business community.

In the below ad, for instance, the Chamber warned of "increasing health care costs for businesses and working families.

In his State of American Business Address earlier this year, Chamber CEO Tom Donohue bemoaned the plight of business owners.

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Health Care

Insurers Voluntarily Agree To Kick-Start HCR Reform Changes Early

Christina Bellantoni | April 28, 2010, 6:39PM

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and President Barack Obama

The nation's health insurance companies have agreed to speed up a critical element of the new health care reform law to ban the practice of canceling coverage when you get sick known as rescissions. America's Health Insurance Plans this afternoon sent Congressional leaders a letter announcing that insurers will put the change in place in May, instead of September as called for in the law.

As we reported yesterday, Democrats had been urging early action, and WellPoint agreed to make the change. But with the full AHIP backing outlined in the letter, Democrats can showcase swift action they can campaign on in advance of the midterm elections. Read the letter in full here.

"While many health plans already abide by the standards outlined in the new law, our community is committed to implementing the new standard in May 2010 to ensure that individuals and families will have greater peace of mind when purchasing coverage on their own," wrote AHIP president Karen Ignagni.

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Ad wars

AHIP Full-Page Ad: 'Health Insurers Make Health Care More Affordable'

Rachel Slajda | March 16, 2010, 9:53AM

AHIP, the health insurance companies' professional organization, is out with a full-page ad today in the Wall Street Journal which claims, in part, that "Health insurers make health care more affordable."

The ad will also run tomorrow in USA Today, according to Politico.

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AHIP

Sebelius And Health Care Exec Clash At AHIP Conference

Evan McMorris-Santoro | March 10, 2010, 1:07PM

AHIP president and CEO Karen Ignagni and Health Secretary Kathleen Sebelius

They were like yin and yang, oil and water. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and America's Health Insurance Plans CEO Karen Ignagni couldn't agree on much today when they debated health care reform at AHIP's conference in downtown Washington, D.C.

Sebelius challenged to insurers to embrace the Obama administration's health care reform efforts before it's too late. Directly after she finished speaking, Ignagni took to the mics to challenge the administration to abandon its efforts to reform the way health insurance works in America -- before it's too late.

The lines appeared to be drawn.

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Health Care

Health Care Ad Wars: TV Spots Amp Up As Final Vote Nears (VIDEO)

Christina Bellantoni | March 10, 2010, 9:56AM

A still from an AHIP ad.

After a cooling off period when health care reform legislation seemed nearly dead, television ad spending is now spiking. Interest groups attempting to swap public opinion and votes in Washington on both sides of the debate are funneling cash into health care ads that experts predict won't let up until after the midterm elections.

"We're going to see a fairly intense couple of weeks as health care reaches the endgame, but advertising related to this issue will only continue," Evan Tracey, president of the Campaign Media Analysis group which tracks ad spending, told me in an interview this morning.

America's Health Insurance Plans and Health Care for America Now sparred yesterday on the air over high costs of insurance and the massive rate hikes we've been tracking at TPMDC.

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AHIP

AHIP Spending $1M To Defend Rate Hikes (VIDEO)

Evan McMorris-Santoro | March 9, 2010, 8:49AM

America's Heath Insurance Plans, the lobbying arm of the nation's health insurance industry, is stepping back into the health care reform debate with more than $1 million in TV ads over the next few days, an AHIP official tells TPMDC. The ads, which will run on cable, will focus on "setting the record straight about rising health care costs" as the Obama administration goes after big insurers for raising insurance rates.

The exact content of the ads is not known, but AHIP and the White House have tangled before. Last year, an AHIP "audit" of a Senate health care reform plan led to a war of words between Obama administration officials and insurers, who started out 2009 supposedly on the same side of the debate.

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Insurance rate hikes

Health Care Showdown: The White House Takes on Insurers

Christina Bellantoni | March 4, 2010, 3:56PM

President Barack Obama and HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius

President Obama and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius today summoned the nation's four largest health insurers responsible for rate increases the administration calls "jaw-dropping." They demanded the insurers - WellPoint, Cigna, Aetna and United Health Group - start disclosing their rate increases on the Internet.

Everyone involved called the talks "constructive," but shortly after the meeting a report surfaced showing the nation's largest insurer would stand to profit substantially if reform fails.

The Washington Post's Ezra Klein got his hands on a report from a consulting firm which evaluated Wellpoint stock and concluded, "Of course, healthcare reform is a double-edged sword for Wellpoint shares. Should reform fail, Wellpoint would be a primary beneficiary."

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Health Care

Insurance Lobby Exec Says Costs Not Addressed In Health Care Bills

Christina Bellantoni | December 3, 2009, 2:03PM

AHIP President and CEO Karen Ignagni

America's Health Insurance Plans CEO Karen Ignagni is speaking today about health care at the Detroit Economic Club and says the bills being debated do not sufficiently address cost containment.

"As far as cost containment is concerned, it's as though the house is on fire and the strategy is to rush to the scene with an eight-ounce glass of water," she said.

Readers will recall that in October AHIP commissioned PriceWaterhouse Coopers to do a report showing that insurance premiums would rise under the bills being considered on Capitol Hill.

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Barack Obama

Influential Players: How Six Big Stakeholders Shaped Health Care

Brian Beutler | November 11, 2009, 8:39AM

President Barack Obama

The biggest players in the health care reform debate often blur together into a swirl of acronyms and policy jargon. But they're also key to understanding how health care reform has been shaped, and how it's come as far as it has.

At this point in the health care debate, pro-reform groups have spent more money on health care ads than have well-heeled health care opponents. That's a testament to just how important the issue is to the liberal base, but it's also the precise effect President Obama was seeking when he partnered with the health care industry's most powerful stakeholders.

What sets the following six players apart is how they've defied the usual expectations and taken positions that don't easily fit into the usual left vs. right or corporate vs. consumer paradigm.

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Health Care

AHIP 'Concerned' About House Health Reform Bill

Evan McMorris-Santoro | October 29, 2009, 12:54PM

AHIP President and CEO Karen Ignagni

The health insurance lobby says it's worried about the health care bill proposed by Nancy Pelosi this morning, but says it's willing to work with Democrats to find a solution the industry says "will cover all Americans, make coverage more affordable, and improve quality."

AHIP CEO Karen Ignagni offered the industry's take on the House bill shortly after it was announced by Pelosi on the steps of the Capitol.

"The promise of health care reform has been that if you like your current coverage, you can keep it," she said. "We are concerned that this proposal will break this promise by increasing health care costs for families and employers across the country and significantly disrupting the quality coverage on which millions of Americans rely today."

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Public Option

AHIP Calls Public Option 'A Roadblock To Reform'

Evan McMorris-Santoro | October 27, 2009, 9:12AM

AHIP, the lobbying arm of the nation's health insurance companies, took a hard line against the public option after Senate Maj. Leader Harry Reid said last night one would be included in a final health care reform bill.

"A new government-run plan would underpay doctors and hospitals rather than driving real reforms that bring down costs and improve quality," the group said in statement posted to the AHIP website. "The American people want health care reform that will reduce costs and this plan doesn't do that."

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AHIP

It's Come To This: AHIP Called 'Baby Haters' In New Web Ad

Evan McMorris-Santoro | October 23, 2009, 12:48PM

Meet Patriot Baby

Apparently there's no room left for subtlety in the fight against AHIP. Meet Patriot Baby, the new hero of health insurance industry opponents:

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AHIP

AHIP Chief Ignores Protestors

Evan McMorris-Santoro | October 22, 2009, 4:45PM

AHIP President and CEO Karen Ignagni

About 400 union activists gathered outside the Capitol Hilton in downtown D.C. this afternoon and called on AHIP CEO Karen Ignagni to take a break from the health insurance industry convention going on inside to meet with seven insurance company customers who say they've each lived through (some of them barely) a nightmare that started when they tried to get their insurer to pay their medical bills.

Ignagni didn't show.

Health Care For America Now!, and organized labor-funded lobbying group, hosted the protest and brought the seven families to DC to meet with Igagni. Executive Director Richard Kirsch told the crowd outside the bad news.

"They're all scared of you," he said of insurance company executives. "They don't want to face us."

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Health Care

Health Care Group Hits AHIP For 'Dishonest' Report In New TV Ad

Christina Bellantoni | October 22, 2009, 11:25AM

Health Care for America Now is up with a new television ad blasting America's Health Insurance Providers (AHIP) for dropping a report suggesting insurance premiums would increase under the Senate Finance Committee.

It says AHIP's report is filled with "lies" and criticizes industry profits and insurer CEO pay. It closes with a call to action: "Tell Congress. We need good health care we can afford. With the choice of a public health insurance option."

The ad is tied to an afternoon press conference with families who have suffered due to problems with insurers. They plan to challenge AHIP officials today during the industry lobbying group's conference in at the Capital Hilton.

TPMDC will be on hand for the HCAN protest, where activists plan to carry signs reading, "It's a crime to deny care."

Watch the ad after the jump.

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Health Care

AHIP Lobbyist: Bipartisan Health Care Reform Is Dead And The GOP Should Keep It That Way

Evan McMorris-Santoro | October 22, 2009, 11:16AM

A lobbyist for the American health insurance companies told an audience this morning that the the bipartisan journey to health care reform President Obama began earlier this year has reached its end.

AHIP lobbyist Steve Champlin spoke at the opening session of the health insurance trade group's "State Issues Conference" in Washington last night. His message? The GOP should stay away from any bill put forward by the Democratic majorities in the House and Senate.

Champlin, reported by the Huffington Post:

"There is absolutely no interest, no reason Republicans should ever vote for this thing. They have gone from a party that got killed 11 months ago to a party that is rising today. And they are rising up on the turmoil of health care. So when they vote for a health care reform bill, whatever it is, they are giving comfort to the enemy who is down."

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AHIP

Ignagni: Misleading AHIP Study? What Misleading AHIP Study?

Brian Beutler | October 20, 2009, 9:50AM

Robert Zirkelbach, Press Secretary AHIP, Pricewaterhouse Coopers building, CEO Karen Ignagni

Karen Ignagni, President and CEO of America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), has penned something a wee bit shy of a mea culpa, explaining away last week's much-derided industry study finding that health care reforms will cause people's premiums to skyrocket.

According to Ignagni, AHIP never meant to hide the ball from anybody:

The study clearly states that its analysis covers only these provisions and specifically notes that it did not factor in the impact of proposed premium subsidies. Nevertheless, critics have charged that the study nefariously hid the fact that it omitted provisions designed to enhance affordability, such as the subsidies and a grandfathering clause.

Elided here is the fact that AHIP asked PricewaterhouseCoopers specifically not to include the mitigating factors of subsidies and other affordability measures, in an attempt to make it seem as if Congress was on the verge of passing legislation that would cause everyone's insurance premiums to skyrocket.

Also elided is that, as has been widely reported, AHIP misled the White House about the existence of the study, despite being a nominal partner in the White House's reform efforts.

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Health Care

White House Fires Back At BlueCross Study Mimicking Debunked AHIP Report

Brian Beutler | October 14, 2009, 4:17PM

President Barack Obama speaks at a Human Rights Campaign event.

This may not get the same amount of press attention as the damning--though ultimately flawed--AHIP/PricewaterhouseCoopers report on the impact of reform measures on the price of premiums. But White House officials are already decrying a new insurance company report alleging that health care reform will cause premiums to spike.

BlueCross BlueShield has sent an analysis to members of Congress--along with a letter, which you can read here--that reaches a similar conclusion to the PwC analysis: The provisions of the health care reform proposals on Capitol Hill that BlueCross don't like will cause people's premiums to skyrocket.

An administration official scoffed at the findings: "This report isn't quite as egregious as the AHIP report...if the AHIP report was a $3.50 bill, this one's a $3.00 bill."

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AHIP

Secret AHIP Talking Points: Mandates Good, Public Option Bad

Evan McMorris-Santoro | October 13, 2009, 5:35PM

A health insurance agent and TPM reader sends along this set of health care reform talking points the agent says AHIP is distributing to local insurance offices across the country. Our agent got the talking points from the password-protected agent-only website of a major insurer.

"I was surprised to see AHIP is against any kind of public option at any time," the source told TPMDC when asked why he was forwarding the information our way.

The AHIP talking points offer several arguments against what the documents call a "government-run plan." Chief among them is that passing a public plan amounts to "turning back the clock on quality, care coordination and disease management." The AHIP memo also says that under a public plan "patients' choices and access to health care will suffer."

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Health Care

Taking Stock Of AHIP Report - Last 36 Hours Have Galvanized Both Sides

Christina Bellantoni | October 13, 2009, 12:36PM

Robert Zirkelbach, Press Secretary AHIP, Pricewaterhouse Coopers building, CEO Karen Ignagni

It's been called a "bombshell," but Democrats are saying the America's Health Insurance Plans report has helped unify the party around the health care bill(s). They say it's much easier to fight the big, bad insurance lobby that burned the White House than, for example, a Congressional Budget Office report showing increased costs and insurmountable debt as the American people are wary of skyrocketing deficits.

However, a key Democratic Senate leadership aide told TPMDC that while the report angered Democrats, it is highly unlikely to move any votes for the final bill. Another Democrat agreed the report "should" galvanize the party but doubted Democrats would take full advantage of the report, which left out some key elements in its analysis.

Responding to that news, the DNC's Brad Woodhouse referred to it as the "AHIP Hatchet Job" and warned that anyone using the "phony" report will be subject to one of the party's "Call you out" campaigns.

"This should lay to rest any notion that the AHIP report has any credibility whatsoever or that it should be used by members of Congress in their deliberations over health insurance reform," Woodhouse said.

Organizing for America, the spinoff of the Obama campaign housed at the DNC, hasn't planned any formal pushback yet but is making sure volunteers have the talking points so they can shoot the report down if they are asked while knocking on doors and making calls.

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Health Care

Accounting Firm Admits Cost Savings Left Out Of Report Prepared For AHIP Report

Christina Bellantoni | October 13, 2009, 10:12AM

Accounting giant PricewaterhouseCoopers has issued a statement about the audit it performed for America's Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) that we have been following closely.

Most notable about the statement, issued late last night, is an acknowledgment the cost savings from the bill weren't included, though PWC points out that is noted on page one of the report.

The statement in full after the jump.

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Health Care

AHIP Gave White House No Notice Of Pending Report Despite Meeting Last Wednesday

Christina Bellantoni | October 12, 2009, 1:36PM

The White House is tempering its reaction to the new health insurance industry report we've been writing about today since the administration questions its legitimacy.

A senior administration official said they weren't yet sure if America's Health Insurance Plans was launching an offensive to try and defeat health care before tomorrow's Senate Finance Committee vote, but was skeptical of AHIP's motivations.

"Given how they behaved in the past, it's very likely they could be up to their old tricks," the official told TPMDC.

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Health Care

Republican Aide Cautions Use of AHIP Report: Check Your Donations First

Christina Bellantoni | October 12, 2009, 11:40AM

We've been keeping a close eye today on Republicans using the new AHIP report to talk about the health care bill leading to rising insurance costs.

Spokesman Kurt Bardella of Rep. Darrell Issa's (R-CA) office told TPMDC that Republicans are sure to use the report as justification for opposing the plan. But he cautioned the minority party must "strike the right balance" between the report showing premiums would rise and "trying to avoid the perception they are doing the insurance industry's bidding."

"Any Republican that uses the report should double-check to see how much money they've received from the industry as that'll be a very easy rebuttal for Dems to hit back," Bardella said.

He views the report as "ample ammunition" for critics of the health care bill and said that it can be used by Republicans as I-told-you-so proof once a bill passes if premiums do rise over the next decade.

"Democrats won't be able to feign surprise or cast it as an unintended consequence - they've been warned and if their health care reform plan - which, right or wrong, seeks to minimize private insurers, results in a defacto tax increase for middle-class Americans - it could prove to be politically devastating," Bardella said.

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AHIP

Senate Finance Committee Slams AHIP Report

Evan McMorris-Santoro | October 12, 2009, 9:20AM

Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT)

The spokesman for the Democratic majority on the Senate Finance Committee pulled no punches in his response to a new health insurance lobby study that's critical of the reform bill drawn up by the committee.

"This report is untrue, disingenuous and bought and paid for by the same health insurance companies that have been gouging too many consumers for too long as they stand in the way of reform yet again," Scott Mulhauser said. "It's a health insurance company hatchet job, plain and simple."

Read his full comment after the jump.

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Health Care

White House Slams Industry's Audit Of Health Reform Bill

Christina Bellantoni | October 12, 2009, 9:02AM

White House Spokesperson Linda Douglass

The White House is pushing back on the new study commissioned by America's Health Insurance Plans suggesting health care costs would increase under the bill the Senate Finance Committee is voting on this week.

White House spokeswoman Linda Douglass called the report a "self-serving analysis" from an opponent of any kind of health insurance reform.

"It comes on the eve of a vote that will reduce the industry's profits," Douglass told TPMDC. "It is hard to take it seriously. The analysis completely ignores critical policies will lower costs for those who have insurance, expand coverage and provide affordable health insurance options to millions of Americans who are priced out of today's health insurance market or are locked out by unfair insurance company practices."

AHIP is a D.C.-based association representing more than 1,000 insurance companies and has been fighting the administration's efforts all year.

We'll have more on this throughout the day - if you hear members of Congress citing the report, let us know.

Late update: Evan has the Senate Finance Committee Dems' response here.

Later update: An AHIP spokesman responded on Fox this morning and we have the clip.

Health Care

Health Insurance Industry Weighs in on Baucuscare

Brian Beutler | September 22, 2009, 1:31PM

Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT)

The insurance industry has weighed in on Sen. Max Baucus' health care reform proposal, and (not surprisingly) the reviews are pretty positive. In a 13-page letter to Baucus, Karen Ignagni, president of America's Health Insurance Plans--the industry's largest professional association--outlines "recommendations for strengthening" the bill and "concerns with key aspects of the proposal."

So what does she like and what doesn't she like? Well there's a lot in there, but two fairly unsurprising objections stand out.

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Jay Rockefeller

Health Insurers to Rockefeller: Stop Fishing Around In Our Books

Brian Beutler | August 25, 2009, 3:42PM

Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV)

Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) has a proposition: If the government is going to mandate that Americans buy health insurance from private companies, they should know how much of that money actually goes to paying health insurance costs. And insurers aren't happy about it.

On Friday, Rockefeller sent letters to executives at the 15 largest health insurance companies in the country, asking them to compile data on this question for the Senate Commerce Committee by September 8.

"It's another page out of the same playbook," says Robert Zirkelbach, spokesman for America's Health Insurance Plans. "There's an effort to shift the focus to the health insurance industry rather than on the bills in Congress."

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Health Care

Rockefeller to Insurers: Where's The Loot?

Brian Beutler | August 24, 2009, 4:12PM

Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV)

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."

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