WellPoint Inc., the nation’s largest health insurer based on membership and parent of Anthem Blue Cross of Connecticut in Hamden, spent about $1.3 million lobbying the federal government in the second quarter mostly on the government’s health care overhaul, which was approved last year that aims to eventually cover millions of uninsured people, The Associated Press reports.
The Indianapolis insurer raised its spending 17 percent compared to the $1.1 million it spent in last year’s quarter but lowered it 3 percent compared to this year’s first quarter. WellPoint operates Blue Cross Blue Shield plans in 14 states and provides coverage for more than 34 million people.
WellPoint lobbied on issues tied to the overhaul’s implementation and regulations for accountable care organizations, which are networks of hospitals, doctors, rehabilitation centers and other providers that coordinate a patient’s care.
