As President Barack Obama calls for an overhaul of the current health care systems, big health insurers are upping their lobbying money in opposition.According to a report filed last month, the five largest insurers and an association of approximately 1,300 insurers under “America’s Health Insurance Plans” spent more than $6.4 million on first quarter lobbying. Robert Zirkelbach, a spokesman for the group, claims the 12-percent increase from last year is simply the group “putting all our resources behind building support of comprehensive health care reform.”
Obama's proposal aims to expand health care coverage in the form of government provided plans similar to Medicare, especially for children, low income citizens and the unemployed. Opposition to the bill claims the competition amongst their plans and government sponsored plans will actually make it harder to reform the current system and will be costly.
As Massachusetts struggles to finance its statewide health care bill, serious concerns arise on how to fund the estimated $1.5 trillion that will be necessary to cover the 47 million uninsured Americans over the next ten years.
Consumer United offers access to Massachusetts Individual and Family Health plans for those not qualifying for state-subsidized insurance or employer-sponsored plans. For a free quote or more information, click here.
--Lana Petersson
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