Red Hot Tips Point: Health-insurance group alleges bullying by congressional panel : David Espo

Sunday, August 23, 2009

A spokesman for the health-insurance industry yesterday accused congressional Democrats of mounting a "fishing expedition" as individual insurers considered whether to honor a House committee's request for financial records.

Robert Zirkelbach, spokesman for the American Health Insurance Plans, said Democrats on the panel hoped to "silence the health-insurance industry and distract attention away from the fact that the American people are rejecting a government-run plan" as part of President Obama's planned overhaul.

Zirkelbach said it would be up to individual companies to decide whether to turn over the records.

Dozens of insurers, including Hartford, Conn.-based Aetna Inc., Louisville, Ky.-based Humana Inc., and Philadelphia-based Cigna Corp., received the request, part of an investigation by the panel of executive compensation and other business practices inside the industry.

A spokesman for Rep. Bart Stupak (D., Mich.) said Tuesday night that 52 letters had been sent to health insurers that have $2 billion or more in annual premiums.

He said such letters were not dispatched to other industry groups, some of which have been airing television advertising in support of Obama's call for legislation.

Among the records requested are those related to compensation of highly paid employees; documents relating to companies' premium income and claims payments, and information on expenses stemming from any event held outside company facilities in the last 2 1/2 years.

The requests were made in letters signed by Rep. Henry A. Waxman (D., Calif.) - who guided a portion of health-care legislation through the House Energy and Commerce Committee last month as chairman - and Stupak, who heads a subcommittee.

They wrote that the committee was "examining executive compensation and other business practices in the health insurance industry."

The letter from Waxman and Stupak requested that the information be provided by early September.

While the companies are not under legal obligation to comply, the committee could respond to a refusal by voting to subpoena the information.

"We are reviewing the letter from Chairman Waxman and will respond as appropriate," Chris Curran, a spokesman for Cigna, said in e-mail. Humana spokesman Tom Noland said the company planned to cooperate fully with the panel. An Aetna representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Among the documents requested are records relating to compensation paid to any company executive earning more than $500,000 in any year from 2003 to 2008.

Waxman and Stupak also sought documents relating to premiums paid by policyholders; claims payments; sales expenses; administrative expenses, and profits, broken down by categories such as employer-provided coverage; individual coverage, Medicare, and Medicaid.

The requests were issued at a time when Obama's health-care proposal is under intense attack from Republicans and other critics, including the health-insurance industry. Much of the opposition focuses on proposals for the government to sell insurance in competition with private carriers.

Obama and other supporters of a so-called government option argue it would help control costs and keep insurance companies honest by forcing them to grapple with competition.

Opponents say it gradually would undermine the present insurance structure, which is built around private insurers, and lead to a system controlled by the government.

The issue drew intense focus over the weekend, after Obama speculated aloud about the possibility that a final bill might not require a government role in selling insurance.

The White House said there had been no change in position. But liberals expressed dismay, giving rise to increased speculation that Senate Democrats could abandon efforts at bipartisanship and draft legislation tailored to their own rank and file.

Any such measure would inevitably jettison many of the compromises crafted in weeks of bipartisan Senate talks. It was unclear whether the talk was a ploy to persuade Senate Republicans to agree to a compromise.