AHIP (trade association)

AHIP (formerly America's Health Insurance Plans) is an American political advocacy and trade association of health insurance companies that offer coverage through the employer-provided, Medicare Advantage, Medicaid managed care, and individual markets.[3][4][5]

AHIP
Formation2003
TypeTrade association
PurposePolitical advocacy
Location
  • Washington, D.C.
Region served
United States
Websitewww.ahip.org
Formerly called
America's Health Insurance Plans[1][2]

History

AHIP was formed in 2003 by the merger of Health Insurance Association of America and American Association of Health Plans.[6][7]

The association's 2005 television advertisement "Shark Bait" drew criticism for its claim that "lawsuit abuse" by American trial lawyers cost the typical American family $1,200 a year.[8]

On August 27, 2009, a spokesman for the association told CNN's Lou Dobbs program that "every survey shows strong satisfaction for private health insurance," as part of the organization's campaign against health care reform. The non-partisan Politifact watchdog organization found that his words were "half-true." In fact, Politifact said polls have found that often the majority of consumers have varying degrees of satisfaction, but are not strongly satisfied.[9]

On the July 10, 2009, edition of Bill Moyers Journal, Wendell Potter, former Vice President of corporate communications at the health insurance corporation CIGNA, claimed that the industry was "afraid" of the Michael Moore documentary Sicko.[10] As a result, the association formed a strategy to discredit the film.[10] As part of the reporting on this allegation, Bill Moyers Journal leaked May 2007 and June 2007 drafts of a memo entitled "Ensuring Accurate Perceptions of the Health Insurance Industry".[11][12]

AHIP gave more than $100 million to help fund the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's 2009 and 2010 efforts to defeat President Obama's signature health care reform law.[13] In 2021, AHIP voiced public support for expanding the Affordable Care Act to help the United States reach universal healthcare coverage.[14]

In 2015, two major American health insurance companies, UnitedHealth and Aetna, left the association. In 2017, a third large insurance company, Humana, also left.[15][16] Humana and Aetna parent CVS Health subsequently rejoined AHIP, and Humana CEO Bruce Broussard was named AHIP board chairman in 2020.[17] CVS Health President and CEO Karen S. Lynch joined the AHIP board in 2021.[18][19]

According to OpenSecrets, the association spent more than $181.8 million on lobbying from 1998 to 2019; in 2018, $6.7 million was paid for work by 44 lobbyists from seven different lobbying firms.[20]

AHIP was one of several organizations involved in founding and funding Partnership for America's Health Care Future (PAHCF), a nonprofit created in 2019 to oppose the creation of a comprehensive, universal health care system in the U.S.[21]

AHIP's board of directors issued a statement at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic voluntarily agreeing to cover diagnostic COVID-19 tests at no cost to members.[22]

AHIP and the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association launched the Vaccine Community Connectors program in March 2021 to help provide COVID-19 vaccination to senior citizens in at-risk and underserved communities.[23] The program helped vaccinate more than 2 million seniors in its first 100 days.[24]

In June 2021, AHIP announced an updated mission and branding that included no longer using the full "America's Health Insurance Plans" title, and instead going simply by "AHIP".[1][2]

References
  1. Minemyer, Paige (2 June 2021). "AHIP launching first rebranding effort in nearly 2 decades". FierceHealthcare. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
  2. Lagasse, Jeff (3 June 2021). "AHIP updates mission in bid to rebrand, commits to mental health and chronic care". Healthcare Finance News. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
  3. Medicare, Centers for; Baltimore, Medicaid Services 7500 Security Boulevard; Usa, Md21244 (2017-07-28). "Core Measures". www.cms.gov. Retrieved 2019-07-30.
  4. Mullner, Ross M. (May 15, 2009). Encyclopedia of Health Services Research. SAGE Publications. pp. 77–78. ISBN 9781452266114. Retrieved January 15, 2019.
  5. Herman, Bob (March 14, 2018). "Marilyn Tavenner leaving AHIP". Axios. Retrieved January 15, 2019.
  6. "Health insurers gain a huge new lobby," The New York Times, September 23, 2003
  7. Sarah Lueck, "Two health trade groups to merge,", The Wall Street Journal, September 23, 2003
  8. "Insurance Industry Ad Makes Fishy Claim About Lawyers". FactCheck.org. April 19, 2005. Archived from the original on May 27, 2013. Retrieved December 26, 2018.
  9. Jacobson, Lewis (September 1, 2009). Adair, Bill (ed.). "Private insurance plans say public has 'strong satisfaction' with their coverage". PolitiFact. Retrieved December 26, 2018.
  10. "Bill Moyers Journal . Transcripts . PBS". Bill Moyers Journal. Public Broadcasting Service. July 10, 2009. Retrieved December 26, 2018.
  11. America's Health Insurance Plans (May 2007). "Ensuring Accurate Perceptions of the Health Insurance Industry" (PDF). Bill Moyers Journal. Public Broadcasting Service (published July 10, 2009). Retrieved December 26, 2018.
  12. America's Health Insurance Plans (June 1, 2007). "Ensuring Accurate Perceptions of the Health Insurance Industry" (PDF). Bill Moyers Journal. Public Broadcasting Service (published July 10, 2009). Retrieved December 26, 2018.
  13. Frates, Chris (2012-06-13). "AHIP Gave More Than $100 Million to Chamber's Efforts to Derail Health Care Reform". National Journal. Archived from the original on 2012-06-15. Retrieved 2020-08-17.
  14. Abelson, Reed (10 February 2021). "Broad Coalition of Health Industry Groups Calls for Obamacare Expansion". The New York Times. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
  15. Bob Herman (January 9, 2016). Big insurer defections signal AHIP's fading clout. Modern Health Care. Accessed January 2019.
  16. Bob Herman, Sam Baker (January 10, 2018). Humana leaves AHIP. Axios. Accessed January 2019.
  17. Haefner, Morgan (17 November 2020). "Humana CEO to chair AHIP board". Becker's Hospital Review. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
  18. Jensik, Lauren (24 June 2021). "Who's on AHIP's board of directors?". Becker's Hospital Review. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
  19. "CVS Health President and CEO Karen Lynch Elected to AHIP Board of Directors". AHIP (Press release). 10 June 2021. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
  20. "America's Health Insurance Plans: Summary". OpenSecrets. OpenSecrets. Retrieved 2 January 2020.
  21. Perez, Andrew (2019-11-19). "Top Democratic Consultants Working for Anti–Medicare for All Campaign". The American Prospect. Retrieved 2020-08-17.
  22. Morse, Susan (6 March 2020). "Insurers will cover testing of coronavirus, AHIP says". Healthcare Finance News. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
  23. Treisman, Rachel (3 March 2021). "New Initiative By Health Insurers Aims To Help Vaccinate 2 Million Vulnerable Seniors". NPR. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
  24. Bailey, Victoria (7 July 2021). "Payer COVID-19 Vaccine Outreach Program Vaccinates 2M Seniors". HealthPayerIntelligence. Retrieved 23 August 2021.
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