Insurers Gave U.S. Chamber $86 Million Used to Oppose Obama's Health Law

Ever wonder who is influencing the discourse and debates on health care?

Insurers Gave U.S. Chamber $86 Million Used to Oppose Obama's Health Law


Health insurers last year gave the U.S. Chamber of Commerce $86.2 million that was used to oppose the health-care overhaul law, according to tax records and people familiar with the donation.

The insurance lobby, whose members include Minnetonka, Minnesota-based UnitedHealth Group Inc. and Philadelphia-based Cigna Corp., gave the money to the Chamber in 2009 as Democrats were increasing their criticism of the industry, according to one person who requested anonymity because laws don’t require identifying funding sources. The Chamber of Commerce received the money from the Washington-based America’s Health Insurance Plans when the industry was urging Congress to drop a plan to create a competing public insurance option.

The spending exceeded the insurer group’s entire budget from a year earlier and accounted for 40 percent of the Chamber’s $214.6 million in 2009 spending. The expenditures reflect the insurers’ attempts to influence the bill after Democrats in Congress and the White House put more focus on regulation of the insurance industry.

The $86.2 million paid for advertisements, polling and grass roots events to drum up opposition to the bill that’s projected to provide coverage to 32 million previously uninsured Americans, according to Tom Collamore, a Chamber of Commerce spokesman. The Chamber used the funds to “advance a market- based health-care system and advocate for fundamental reform that would improve access to quality care while lowering costs,” it said in a statement.

U.S. Disclosure Law

The organizations disclosed the funding yesterday in annual tax records required under U.S. law. The Chamber’s records show it received $86.2 million from a single group, which a second person briefed on the transaction by those involved identified as America’s Health Insurance Plans, also called AHIP.

Tax disclosure forms require organizations to list only the amounts granted or received from other groups, and not the organizations’ identities. Health insurers expressed opposition to the law signed in March while they conferred with congressional Democrats writing the bill and the White House. At the same time, the Chamber of Commerce was advertising its opposition.

The funds were given by to the chamber in August 2009 and were funded by health insurers, according to the first person.

Neither the Chamber of Commerce nor AHIP would answer questions on the donation beyond their statements.

 

How very surprising.

 

it looks like a good investment. with that money they were able to convince the very people it was designed to help to vote against it. lets hope for the sake of the chamber that the intellectual populace in the red states never figure out that they are being played. the chamber has a sucessful stradegy going here. stroke the red staters with a little guns,god and gays fearmongering and they will vote against their own interests.

 

No.

Unions who won protection from Obamacare:

– United Food and Commercial Workers Allied Trade Health and Welfare Trust Fund
– International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Union No. 915
– Asbestos Workers Local 53 Welfare Fund
– Employees Security Fund
– Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 123 Welfare Fund
– United Food and Commercial Workers Local 227
– United Food and Commercial Workers Local 455 (Maximus)
– United Food and Commercial Workers Local 1262
– Musicians Health Fund Local 802
– Hospitality Benefit Fund Local 17
– Transport Workers Union
– United Federation of Teachers Welfare Fund
– International Union of Painters and Allied Trades (AFL-CIO)
– Plus two organizations that appear to be chapters of the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA)

 

AFL-CIO chief Richard Trumka:

“Without Nancy Pelosi, health care [sic] wouldn’t have happened, because all the guys that were sitting around the table wanted to fold their cards and go for these little itty-bitty rights. She’s the one who had the backbone to say no. We stuck together, and we got a historic victory, and she drove it down the Republicans’ throats and out their backsides.”

 

Considering these unions, as well as a total of 111 companies, have been given "oppose" exemptions from Obamacare, I would say the insurers are on to something.

 

Sometimes I wonder who's payroll you are on? I am neither on union's payroll nor the government's payroll and none of my immediate families are either. I have dealt with insurance companies though.

This is a thread about the influence of insurer's money to defeat health care reform. If you have any documentation on union money influence on health care, please post them. Give us some hard numbers, no doubt there are many, we will be interested.

 

they used the money to corrupt congress. its the presidents fault he cut deals with the insurance and drug lobby because they owned so many democrats.

this was the insurance lobby defeating very expensive socialism with crappy socialism.