Americas Health Insurance Plans

The High Cost of Allowing Health Insurers to Continue Keeping Us in the Dark

Wendell Potter | Posted 03.27.2012

Read More: Affordable Care Act, Unitedhealth, Obamacare, America's Health Insurance Plans, Wellpoint, Ahip, State of the Union 2012, Obama Health Care, Health Care, Politics News

It might possibly cost the insurance industry $382 million to comply with the Affordable Care Act for the first two years. But the cost of allowing those companies to continue keeping consumers in the dark would be far, far higher, Mr. President.

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Using PR Playbook to Keep Us in the Dark About Health Insurance Coverage

Wendell Potter | Posted 02.04.2012

Read More: Grocery Manufacturers Association, Obamacare, Ahip, Health Care Reform, Health Care, America's Health Insurance Plans, Wall Street Journal, Kaiser Family Foundation, Politics News

If you wonder why the health insurance industry has to set up front groups and secretly funnel cash to industry-funded coalitions to influence public policy, take a look at the most recent results of the Kaiser Family Foundation's monthly Health Tracking Poll.

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Insurance Industry Flack Screws Up, Points Us to Report We Really Should Read

Wendell Potter | Posted 07.19.2011

Read More: Health Care for America Now, Hcan, Public Relations, Ahip, Health Insurance, Single Payer, Hmos, America's Health Insurance Plans, Health Care, Business News

Successful flacks know how to use a variety of public relations tricks to obscure the truth -- being selective in the disclosure of information, for instance, or using statistics in misleading ways. But sometimes that can backfire.

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The Truth About Health Insurance Company Profits: They're Excessive

Ethan Rome | Posted 07.18.2011

Read More: Health Care for America Now, Profits, Ahip, Health Care Reform, Health Insurance, America's Health Insurance Plans, Health Care Repeal, Republicans, Politics, politicsAffordable Care Act, Business News

Following astonishingly high first-quarter profit reports from health insurance companies, that industry's trade group, America's Health Insurance Plans, now claims it is among the least profitable health care industries.

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Ask the Chamber of Commerce: Why Is Too Much Not Enough?

Bill Moyers | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Health Care Reform, Anthem Blue Cross, Politics, America's Health Insurance Plans, US Chamber of Commerce, Wellpoint, Ahip, Politics News

Living in these United States, there comes a point at which you throw your hands up in exasperation and despair and ask a fundamental question: how much excess profit does corporate America really need?

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The Coming Battle of the Ritz Carlton

Robert Creamer | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Health Care for America Now, Health Insurance Industry, Hcan, Angela Braly, Cigna, Obama Health Care Plan, Ed Hanway, Nataline Sarkisian, Viet Nam War, Wellpoint, Health Care Reform, Anthem Blue Cross, Karen Ignagni, Ahip, America's Health Insurance Plans, Ritz Carlton, Health Insurance Reform, Politics News

Insurance executives are not here to negotiate or to shape legislation. They are here to stop health care reform dead in its tracks. They will not be "convinced" to allow health care reform to pass the Congress.

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The Greed Olympics: Banks and Insurers Battle for the Gold

Peter Dreier | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Gregory Curl, Cigna, National Retail Federation, Tom Harkin, Jamie Dimon, Angela Braly, John Stumpf, Humana, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Americans for Financial Reform, Center for Responsive Politics, Anthem Blue Cross, Aetna, America's Health Insurance Plans, Campaign Contributions, Lloyd Blankfein, Citigroup, American Banking Association, Health Care for America Now, Lobbying, United Health Group, U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Ina Drew, Kathleen Sebelius, Barack Obama, National Association of Wholesaler-Distributors, JP Morgan, Wall Street, National Association of Manufacturers, Peter DeFazio, Health Care Reform, Wellpoint, Harry Reid, Banking Reform, Ahip, Business News

As the Greed Olympics heats up, it is time for Americans to stop being spectators. The President and Congress shouldn't be the only ones judging the competition and handing out the medals.

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Max Baucus Has Only Himself To Blame

Chris Weigant | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: President Obama, Senate Finance Committee, Wasted Time, Timetable, Health Insurance Industry, Obama, Reform, Reid, Baucus, Obstructionism, Health Care, August, Committee, House, Finance Committee, Democrat, Congress, Bipartisan, Democrats, Barack Obama, Americas Health Insurance Plans, Insurance Industry, Chris Weigant, Health, Industry, Health Insurance, Max Baucus, Obstructionist, Harry Reid, Republicans, Ahip, Healthcare, Senate, Politics News

I have little sympathy for Baucus at this point, when he complains that his adversaries have had time to put out a report attacking his bill. Because there is one reason that they've had all that time.

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Health Insurance Industry Exposes Its Insatiable Greed

Peter Dreier | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Greed, Cigna, Stephen Hemsley, Edward Hanway, Health Care for American Now, Hcan, Angela Braly, UnitedHealth Group, Humana, Insurance Industry, Profits, Max Baucus, Wellpoint, Karen Ignagni, Ahip, America's Health Insurance Plans, Michael McCallister, Rose Ann DeMoro, California Nurses Association, Richard Kirsch, Nancy Ann DeParle, Evan Bayh, Ben Nelson, Mary Landrieu, Kent Conrad, Blanche Lincoln, Politics News

After pretending for months to cooperate with the Obama administration and Democrats to secure a reasonable health reform bill, the industry's CEOs and lobbyists on Sunday double-crossed their one-time political allies.

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AHIP: Health Care Reform's Ultimate Frenemy

HuffingtonPost.com | Arthur Delaney | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Lobbyblog, Karen Ignagni, Ahip, Americas Health Insurance Plans, Ahip Lobbyist, Business News

For months now, the lobbyists for America's Health Insurance Plans have been publicly expressing support for the Democratic health-care reform bill --...

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Public Option Plan Will Cover Few Americans, New Statistic Reveals

AP | RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Health Care Bill, Robert Zirkelbach, Commonwealth Fund, Public Option, Drew Altman, Private Insurers, Congressional Budget Office, Kaiser Family Foundation, Government Insurance Plan, Nancy Pelosi, Majority Leader Harry Reid, Medicaid, Health Care, America's Health Insurance Plans, Politics News

WASHINGTON — What's all the fuss about? After all the noise over Democrats' push for a government insurance plan to compete with private carrier...

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White House "Blindsided" By Health Insurance Company

AP | RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Nancy Deparle Ahip, Ahip Study, Deparle, Ahip, Nancy Deparle, Health Insurance Company Study, America's Health Insurance Plans, Politics News

(AP) WASHINGTON — Insurance companies aren't playing nice any more. Their dire message that health care legislation will drive up premiums for p...

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Insurance Companies Emerge As Obama's Reform Foe

Washington Post | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Americas Health Insurance Plans, Ahip, Obama Health Care Overhaul, Obama Health Care, Health Care, Karen Ignagni, Healthcare, President Obama Health Care Overhaul, Politics News

Now they have an enemy. For months, President Obama and his administration waged their fight for a health-care overhaul without a clear opponent, eve...

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Humana: Profits Over People

Peter Dreier | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Mitch McConnell, Public Option, Health Care. Tricare, Linda Peeno, America's Health Insurance Plans, Nancy Pelosi, Health Insurance, Health Care Reform, Michael McCallister, Max Baucus, Jill Canino, Medicare Advantage, Ahip, Humana, Politics News

Whoever picked the name "Humana" for the health insurance giant had a great sense of humor. Had the marketing genius in charge of picking a name for the corporation been more honest, he would have called it "Profita."

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Health Insurance Companies Want Severe Penalites For People Who Do Not Buy Coverage

The Associated Press | By ERICA WERNER | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Lobbying, Lobbyists, Senate Finance Committee, Health CareHealth Care, Low-Income, Alissa Fox, Peter Orszag, Pre-Existing Conditions, Middle Class, Insurance Companies, Mandatory Insurance, Debbie Stabenow, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Health Insurance Companies, Schumer, Penalties, Public Option, Health Care Reform, Karen Ignagni, Individual Mandate, Chuck Schumer, America's Health Insurance Plans, Stabenow, Health Care, Politics News

WASHINGTON (AP)-- The health insurance industry doesn't want Congress to let you off easy if you decide to ignore a proposed requirement that all Amer...

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Cigna CEO Hanway: Obstacle to Health Insurance Reform

Peter Dreier | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: Business Roundtable, Edward Hanway, Health Care for America Now, Cigna, Lobbying, Hcan, Health Care Reform, Natalin Sarkisyan, Wendell Potter, America's Health Insurance Plans, Health Insurance Reform, Campaign Contributions, Politics News

Natalin Sarkisyan was a 17-year-old from Glendale, Calif., who had leukemia and needed a liver transplant. Cigna said the procedure was "too risky." In December 2007, Sarkisyan died.

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Join Our Investigation: How Often Do Health Insurers Deny Claims?

Huffington Post Investigative Fund | Adam Clark Estes | Posted 05.25.2011

Read More: House of Representatives, Unitedhealth, Huffington Post Investigative Fund, House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, Health Insurance Industry, Health Insurance, Cigna, Aetna, Humana, Health Care Reform, Health Care, America's Health Insurance Plans, Healthcare, California Nurses Association, Home News

Amid all the loud arguments about the proper role for government and private companies in American health care, one point often seems lost: Exactly ho...

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