Industry "Playbook" At Work Against Health Reform

The latest wave of attacks on health care reform are straight from the insurance-company "playbook," a former industry vice president told reporters at the Capitol Wednesday.

"I know from years as an industry P.R. executive how effective insurers can be using scare tactics to turn public opinion against any reforms that affect profitability," said Wendell Potter, who ran corporate communications for health insurance giant CIGNA until last year. "This year, you can rest assured the industry is up to the same dirty tricks."

That's not to say insurers are sending angry citizens to town hall meetings, but Potter said that through "shills" and "buzzwords" they are indirectly responsible for much of the anti-reform "lies and disinformation" dominating the current debate.

If anyone knows the playbook, it's Potter, who helped oversee CIGNA's opposition to health care reforms from the Clinton era forward. Since the early nineties, he said, insurers have publicly espoused support for reform while privately funneling patients' premium dollars to front groups working to turn Congress and public opinion against any change. Potter said the industry funded the Health Leadership Council's crusade against Clintoncare and helped form the Coalition for Affordable Quality Health Care and the Health Benefits Coalition, the latter billed as a broad group of business interests, to fight the Patients' Bill of Rights.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/08/12/ex-insurance-exec-industr_n_258095.html

Much has been made by some how much the industry is supporting the reform effort it's notthing, but lip service. I saw an interview on msnbc today where he said that they did the same thing in 1993 saying how much were favor of ending pre exsisting conditions etc and when the reform effort died of course didn't end the practices.