Health Insurers Funded Chamber Attack Ads

[kpete]

Source: National Journal

Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Health Insurers Funded Chamber Attack Ads

By Peter H. Stone

Updated at 6:45 p.m.

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.

That money, between $10 million and $20 million, came from Aetna, Cigna, Humana, Kaiser Foundation Health Plans, UnitedHealth Group and Wellpoint, according to two health care lobbyists familiar with the transactions. The companies are all members of the powerful trade group America's Health Insurance Plans.

The funds were solicited by AHIP and funneled to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to help underwrite tens of millions of dollars of television ads by two business coalitions set up and subsidized by the chamber. Each insurer kicked in at least $1 million and some gave multimillion-dollar donations.

"There's no question that AHIP has quietly solicited monies from their members which were funneled over to the chamber for their ads," said a source. The total donated by the health insurers, according to one estimate, was as much as one-quarter of the chamber's total health care advertising budget.

Read more: http://undertheinfluence.nationaljournal.com/2010/01/health-insurers-funded-chamber.php

[Newsjock]

1. That's nice. What can we do about it?

We can't cancel our health insurance and take our business to the community-owned "insurance union" down the street, even if our "premiums" went to help pay for all those ads.

I'd like to know how we can wield effective power against these behemoths.

[groundloop]

2. This article failed to mention that they also bought Lie-berman

:sarcasm:

[No Elephants]

4. He repulses me, but I see no reason to single him out. He cast exactly the same

vote that the other 59 members of the Senate's Democratic Caucus cast, including Sanders, Feingold and the Kennedy's designated place holder.

Baucus and Nelson, on the other hand....

[groundloop]

5. Lie-berman's by far the worst of the bunch

Without his 'help' we'd at least be seeing an expansion of Medicare, but I do agree that Baucus and Nelson are running a close second to Lie-berman. But that crap about killing the Medicare expansion compromise because the liberal Senators liked it, that went above and beyond.

[No Elephants]

3. Knowing (and spreading) the truth has value and can lead to all kinds of things.

I'm into primarying incumbents myself. The only incumbent running in my state this year, though, is my Rep, who is a member of the Progressive Caucus and voted for a public option. So, I must wait.