The trade group America's Health Insurance Plans said it put up funds at the behest of its members. AHIP represents the nation's largest insurers, including Aetna Inc., Cigna Corp., Humana Inc., UnitedHealth Group Inc. and Wellpoint Inc.
AHIP acknowledged paying for the ads after a story appeared in the National Journal's online editions late Tuesday.
"Reform needs to make health care more affordable, particularly for small businesses that struggle to provide coverage to their employees," AHIP spokesman Robert Zirkelbach said in an e-mailed statement.
"We share the very serious concerns employers have raised about provisions that will increase health-care costs, including new premium taxes that will hit small businesses hard. So when the employer community — our customers — asked us to contribute to their campaign, we readily agreed," Zirkelbach went on to say.
Citing health-care lobbyists, the National Journal said each insurer secretly put up at least $1 million and that the organization as a whole contributed $10 million to $20 million dating back to last summer.
The Journal reported that AHIP solicited the funds and funneled them to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to underwrite the ads. Two business coalitions set up and subsidized by the chamber were responsible for the ads, the story said.
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