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The health industry is taking more heat today. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius called them out, telling executives they need to choose between short-term profits and a “sustainable health insurance market.”
Sebelius told members of America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) to consider what customers were going through. “Can you blame them for thinking the system’s broken when their health insurance – which is supposed to protect them from exorbitant health costs – still forces them to pay thousands of dollars out of their pocket each year?”
White House officials have been mounting pressure on insurers in recent weeks. They are calling for medical insurance executives to release details on skyrocketing premium increases. Officials want to know where the money is going and how much of it is actually covering medical costs.
Sebelius says health insurers are working against Obama’s healthcare overhaul. Insurers have millions of dollars set aside to launch ads against health care reform legislation. “You can choose to continue your opposition to reform,” she said. “If you do and reform goes down in defeat, we know what will happen. By next March, premiums will be taking an even bigger bite out of Americans’ wages.”
Tags: affordable health insurance, health industry, health officials, Kathleen Sebelius, medical insurance
