Insurance Cos Gave Chamber Of Commerce $86.2 Million To Fight Health Plan

Insurance companies gave $86.2 million to the Chamber of Commerce to oppose health care reform.

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.

Money went to ads, polling and “grassroots events” to oppose the bill, says the Chamber of Commerce.  Oh, so that’s what “grassroots” means.

By: Alan

Alan Colmes is the publisher of Liberaland.