Ahead of the approaching health care reform storm, the insurance industry is building an ark: a nationwide education campaign aimed at raising an activist army at least 100,000 strong.
The unprecedented effort by America’s Health Insurance Plans, called the Campaign for an American Solution, includes a nationwide listening tour, advertising and an intense recruitment effort aimed at signing up Americans who are satisfied with their private insurance coverage. AHIP President and CEO Karen Ignagni plans to launch the campaign Tuesday by hosting a discussion among a group of uninsured people in Columbus, Ohio.
“On an issue as big and far-reaching as health care reform, you need to be working with real people and you need to have a reach outside the Beltway,” AHIP spokesman Michael Tuffin told Politico in an interview outlining the industry’s strategy. “The issue isn’t going to be settled just by lobbyists in Washington. The American people are going to have their say.”
The massive outreach is AHIP’s attempt to drive debate in a political climate that has had the industry on the defensive since Democrats took control of Congress last year.
http://www.pnhp.org/news/2008/july/insurance_industry_f.php