FROM THE AP: " *Health insurers flirted with Democrats, supported them with money and got what they wanted: a federal mandate that most Americans carry health care coverage. Now they're backing Republicans, hoping a GOP Congress will mean friendlier regulations....
....Cigna, which early last year had been funneling money to Democrats from its political action committee, has shifted from a 50-50 split between the parties to around 70-30 in favor of Republican candidates.
Likewise, about $6 of $10 that Blue Cross Blue Shield Association's PAC doled out from February through June 2009 went to Democrats. By last month, the ratio had shifted - Democrats got only about 35 percent of the insurer's PAC money.....
A central worry for insurers is a planned requirement that companies spend a minimum 80 percent of premiums on medical care or rebate the difference to policy holders. They also want a say in defining what would be considered "excessive" premium increases that could expose an insurance company to sanctions.
"What they are looking for is someone who is going to be more sympathetic and supportive on the policy side," said Peter Harbage, a Democratic health policy consultant..... It's also personal......
Democrats made it sound like insurance companies were "the scum of the earth," Hoagland (a Cigna lobbyist) said. "That kind of pricked me.".....
The industry is keeping a wary eye on the law's requirement that states create exchanges where insurers will compete to sell policies to consumers beginning in 2014.
"If your premiums go up too quickly, then you're going to be excluded from the exchange," Harbage said. "Every state is going to be responsible for collecting that data, looking at that data, interpreting it and making some kind of recommendation to HHS."....
Insurers argue that if they are going to be forced to issue policies to people in poor health - as the law requires in 2014 - then everybody has to get into the insurance pool.....
James Gelfand, health care policy director of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said he expects insurers to focus on arcane details of the complex law that make a difference to their bottom lines.
"The are going to have a different opinion on how to address health care than the tea party does, and it does hinge on the individual mandate," he said. "That's the biggest difference between the insurance companies and the other parts of the GOP constituency."
*Read the full article at:
The Roanoke Times: News, sports and entertainment stories and information from the Associated Press
....Cigna, which early last year had been funneling money to Democrats from its political action committee, has shifted from a 50-50 split between the parties to around 70-30 in favor of Republican candidates.
Likewise, about $6 of $10 that Blue Cross Blue Shield Association's PAC doled out from February through June 2009 went to Democrats. By last month, the ratio had shifted - Democrats got only about 35 percent of the insurer's PAC money.....
A central worry for insurers is a planned requirement that companies spend a minimum 80 percent of premiums on medical care or rebate the difference to policy holders. They also want a say in defining what would be considered "excessive" premium increases that could expose an insurance company to sanctions.
"What they are looking for is someone who is going to be more sympathetic and supportive on the policy side," said Peter Harbage, a Democratic health policy consultant..... It's also personal......
Democrats made it sound like insurance companies were "the scum of the earth," Hoagland (a Cigna lobbyist) said. "That kind of pricked me.".....
The industry is keeping a wary eye on the law's requirement that states create exchanges where insurers will compete to sell policies to consumers beginning in 2014.
"If your premiums go up too quickly, then you're going to be excluded from the exchange," Harbage said. "Every state is going to be responsible for collecting that data, looking at that data, interpreting it and making some kind of recommendation to HHS."....
Insurers argue that if they are going to be forced to issue policies to people in poor health - as the law requires in 2014 - then everybody has to get into the insurance pool.....
James Gelfand, health care policy director of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said he expects insurers to focus on arcane details of the complex law that make a difference to their bottom lines.
"The are going to have a different opinion on how to address health care than the tea party does, and it does hinge on the individual mandate," he said. "That's the biggest difference between the insurance companies and the other parts of the GOP constituency."
*Read the full article at:
The Roanoke Times: News, sports and entertainment stories and information from the Associated Press
