In the past few weeks, health insurance companies have been quite a “punching bag ” for proponents of sweeping health insurance reform. For just an example, Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius spoke at a conference in front of the insurance organization, America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP).
According to Politico, Secretary Sebelius spent most of her 20 minute speech accounting stories of Americans who lost their coverage because of rising health insurance costs.
As a result, insurance companies have shot back at the bill. Many insurers are now actively campaigning against health reform.
Really, the Obama Administration put itself in this position. Last year, AHIP was one of the first groups to pitch in support for health insurance reform.But as lawmakers began depicting insurance companies as the villain, insurers began lining up against the legislation.
“There has been a relentless attack on the men and women who work in our industry. But the politics as usual in Washington won’t address the underlying affordability issues, so we have to move beyond the politics of vilification and get to the process of problem solving, ” said AHIP president Karen Ignagni at the conference.
Ignagni argued that there should be more focus on driving down the cost of health care rather than pointing fingers.
So can we all really get along? Maybe not in politics.