Leading Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives have told more than 50 top health insurance companies to provide information on executive compensation, financial performance and operations.
Recipients of the letters, from the Energy & Commerce Committee chairmen Henry Waxman (D-Cal.) and Bart Stupak (D-Mich.), include Blue Shield of California, Health Net of California and Kaiser Foundation Health Plan. A response is requested by Sept. 4.
The requests comes as Democrats and Republicans in the House of Representatives and Senate battle over possible health-care reform, leading to charges from Republicans and others that the letters are politically motivated and intended to intimidate insurers from opposing plans backed by Democrats and President Barack Obama. Those plans would place restrictions on some insurance company practices and might include a public-owned alternative that would compete with them.
Through their trade organization, America's Health Insurance Plans, insurance companies have opposed some parts of the plan, particularly the creation of a public competitor.
A spokesman for the AHIP called the letter "politically driven" and "a fishing expedition."
Waxman has been a consistent critic of insurance industry practices and launched an investigation into them last year. His committee passed a health-care reform measure in June.
No comments:
Post a Comment