WellPoint Inc., parent of Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield of Connecticut, spent $1.2 million and Cigna Corp. shelled out $260,000 in the second quarter to lobby the federal government on a variety of health care reform-related issues and other topics, according to recent disclosure reports.
The Indianapolis-based WellPoint, the nation’s largest health insurer, lobbied on employer-sponsored insurance, the uninsured and an option to create a government plan, as Congressional committees worked on legislation to trim spiraling health care costs and cover the nation’s uninsured.
WellPoint also lobbied on electronic health records, comparative effectiveness research and Medicare Advantage, among other topics, according to a report filed July 20 with House clerk’s office.
WellPoint, which operates Blue Cross Blue Shield plans in 14 states, lobbied Congress and the Department of Health and Human Services in the April-June period.
Among those lobbying on WellPoint’s behalf were: Stephen Northrup, former health policy director for the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee; and Kim Zimmerman, whose previous jobs included legislative assistant to Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., research analyst with the Department of Justice, and legislative correspondent and assistant to Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa.
The insurer’s second-quarter spending total represented a 35 percent increase compared with the same quarter last year, but a slight decrease from the $1.22 million it spent in the first quarter.
Philadelphia-based Cigna, which has major operations in Bloomfield, lobbied on a proposed government health insurance program, federal regulation of insurers, and taxation of employer-sponsored health benefits, among other topics. It also lobbied on Medicare Advantage and Medicare Part D prescription drug program issues.
Besides Congress and the White House, Cigna lobbied the Congressional Budget Office, Department of Health and Human Services, and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services during the April-June period, according to a report filed July 16 with the House clerk’s office.
The company’s total represents a steep drop from the $460,000 it spent in the first quarter, but a 24 percent increase from the year-ago period.
Hartford-based Aetna Inc. also reported spending increases in the second quarter compared with last year. But Minnetonka, Minn.-based UnitedHealth Group Inc. and Louisville, Ky.-based Humana Inc. reported drops. (AP)
