Health Insurers Spent $38 Million Lobbying Congress in 2009

http://blogs.alternet.org/speakeasy/2010/01/25/health-insurers-spent-38-million-lobbying-congress-in-2009/

zaidjilani at 10:34 pm
January 25, 2010 REPLIES: 0
Health Insurers Spent $38 Million Lobbying Congress in 2009

The Hill reports today that insurance companies — who have fought hard against health reforms like the creation of a new public health insurance plan – spent $38 million in 2009 to influence the direction of the health care debate. Here are some of the biggest spenders:

WellPoint: The Indiana-based insurer spent $4.7 million lobbying Congress last year, an increase of 21 percent from its expenditures in 2008.

UnitedHealth Group: The largest of all health insurance companies spent $4.5 million on lobbyists last year, an increase of 7 percent from 2008.

Humana: The insurance mega-company “showed the biggest increase in its lobbying spending among … insurers.” It spent $3.2 million lobbying in 2009, which is an 80 percent increase from 2008.

America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP): The health insurance industry’s lobbying group spent $8.9 million on lobbyists in 2009, a 20 percent increase from the previous year.