Health insurers play two-faced role in reform; pay for attack ads rather than paying bills

Tax record disclosures of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce released on November 16, 2010, show that while health insurers were at the bargaining table winning political concessions that made health care reform more expensive, they were also contributing $86 million dollars to the Chamber to anonymously oppose the entire idea of reform.  Bloomberg News reported that insurance spending accounted for 40 percent of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's $214 million dollars in 2009 expenditures.  It also reported that the insurers' contributions to the Chamber "dwarfed" the other, mostly anonymous, contributions it received during the period.

Meanwhile, the State of California fined its health insurers several million dollars this month for failing to meet the State-mandated threshold of paying 95% of billings on a timely basis.