On a conference call with reporters Tuesday, Karen Ignagni, president and CEO of America鈥檚 Health Insurance Plans, said the 鈥淲ashington politics as usual鈥� of finger pointing聽is hurting the process of trying to forge consensus on health reform.聽
Although Ignagni didn鈥檛 mention names, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., made comments last week that health insurers are the villains of the current health reform debate. Ignagni聽said anyone trying to find a 鈥渧illain鈥� among insurers was hurting both the process and 鈥渙rdinary鈥� Americans working in the industry.聽鈥淭hey don鈥檛 deserve to be demonized or vilified as part of a campaign to distract attention away from the sinking support for a government-run program,鈥� she said. Ignagni also called claims about the extravagance of health care profits 鈥渆rroneous.鈥�
Ignagni wouldn鈥檛 speculate as whether聽the increasingly tough talk from Democrats or the White House聽would聽undermine聽insurers鈥� support for聽the overhaul effort. She also noted that聽proposals to end coverage denials based on聽pre-existing conditions or health status would be 鈥渉ard to do鈥� without incorporating an individual mandate in any health proposal.聽AHIP also continues its opposition聽to the inclusion of聽a government-run plan. 鈥淲e鈥檙e 80 percent there with the kind of consensus this time around in 2009 that never existed in 93-94,鈥� she said. 鈥淯nfortunately I think the full focus on the government-run question has obscured this consensus.鈥�
As Congress recesses, Ignagni said AHIP will spend time and advertising dollars communicating with聽Americans about聽support for聽bipartisan reforms. 鈥淲e鈥檙e going to continue to focus on the proposals that we鈥檝e been advocating for more than three years,鈥� she said. 鈥淲hat we鈥檙e going to do in August is make sure every American outside Washington understands what we have proposed, what we are for and the fact that we are working hard to help forge the consensus that must be forged to pass health care reform.鈥�