AHIP, the lobbying arm of the nation’s health insurance companies, took a hard line against the public option after Senate Maj. Leader Harry Reid said last night one would be included in a final health care reform bill.
“A new government-run plan would underpay doctors and hospitals rather than driving real reforms that bring down costs and improve quality,” the group said in statement posted to the AHIP website. “The American people want health care reform that will reduce costs and this plan doesn’t do that.”
AHIP laid the groundwork for its opposition to a public option in the last two weeks. First, the group released an internal study claiming the Senate Finance Committee’s reform bill would drive up private insurance rates by thousands of dollars. Next, it distributed talking points to local health insurance agents slamming any public option as “a government takeover of health care.”
Yesterday’s statement was more of the same. The trade group argues that by focusing on a public option, health care reform proponents in Congress have taken their eye off the ball when it comes to fixing health care for average American families.
“The divisive debate about a government-run plan is a roadblock to reform,” the AHIP statement reads. “It’s time we focus instead on broad-based reforms that will ensure the affordability and sustainability of our health care system.”
