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AHIP (formerly America's Health Insurance Plans) is an American
political advocacy Advocacy is an activity by an individual or group that aims to influence decisions within political, economic, and social institutions. Advocacy includes activities and publications to influence public policy, laws and budgets by using facts ...
and
trade association A trade association, also known as an industry trade group, business association, sector association or industry body, is an organization founded and funded by businesses that operate in a specific industry. An industry trade association partic ...
of health insurance companies that offer coverage through the employer-provided, Medicare Advantage, Medicaid managed care, and individual markets.


History

AHIP was formed in 2003 by the merger of Health Insurance Association of America and American Association of Health Plans. 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. On August 27, 2009, a spokesman for the association told
CNN CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...
'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. On the July 10, 2009, edition of ''
Bill Moyers Journal ''Bill Moyers Journal'' was an American television current affairs program that covered an array of current affairs and human issues, including economics, history, literature, religion, philosophy, science, and most frequently politics. Bill Moy ...
'',
Wendell Potter Wendell Potter (born July 16, 1951) is an American advocate for health insurance payment reform, ''New York Times'' bestselling author, and former health insurance industry communications director. A critic of HMOs and the tactics used by health ...
, former Vice President of corporate communications at the health insurance corporation CIGNA, claimed that the industry was "afraid" of the Michael Moore documentary ''
Sicko ''Sicko'' is a 2007 American political documentary film by filmmaker Michael Moore. Investigating health care in the United States, it focuses on the country's health insurance and the pharmaceutical industry. The film compares the for-profit no ...
''. As a result, the association formed a strategy to discredit the film. 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". 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. In 2021, AHIP voiced public support for expanding the Affordable Care Act to help the United States reach universal healthcare coverage. In 2015, two major American health insurance companies,
UnitedHealth UnitedHealth Group Incorporated is an American multinational managed healthcare and insurance company based in Minnetonka, Minnesota. It offers health care products and insurance services. UnitedHealth Group is the world's seventh largest ...
and
Aetna Aetna Inc. () is an American managed health care company that sells traditional and consumer directed health care insurance and related services, such as medical, pharmaceutical, dental, behavioral health, long-term care, and disability plans, ...
, left the association. In 2017, a third large insurance company,
Humana Humana Inc. is a for-profit American health insurance company based in Louisville, Kentucky. In 2021, the company ranked 41 on the Fortune 500 list, which made it the highest ranked (by revenues) company based in Kentucky. It has been the thir ...
, also left. Humana and Aetna parent
CVS Health CVS Health Corporation (previously CVS Corporation and CVS Caremark Corporation) is an American healthcare company that owns CVS Pharmacy, a retail pharmacy chain; CVS Caremark, a pharmacy benefits manager; and Aetna, a health insurance prov ...
subsequently rejoined AHIP, and Humana CEO
Bruce Broussard Bruce Dale Broussard is chief executive officer and president of Humana, a health insurance company with headquarters in Louisville, Kentucky. Background Broussard received a degree in business from Texas A&M University and a Master of Business A ...
was named AHIP board chairman in 2020. CVS Health President and CEO Karen S. Lynch joined the AHIP board in 2021. According to
OpenSecrets OpenSecrets is a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that tracks data on campaign finance and lobbying. It was created from a merger of the Center for Responsive Politics (CRP) and the National Institute on Money in Politics (NIMP) ...
, 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. AHIP was one of several organizations involved in founding and funding
Partnership for America's Health Care Future Partnership for America's Health Care Future (PAHCF) is an alliance of American hospital, health insurance, and pharmaceutical lobbyists committed to preventing legislation that would lead to single-payer healthcare, expanding Medicare, or creat ...
(PAHCF), a nonprofit created in 2019 to oppose the creation of a comprehensive, universal health care system in the U.S. AHIP's board of directors issued a statement at the outset of the
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
voluntarily agreeing to cover diagnostic COVID-19 tests at no cost to members. AHIP and the
Blue Cross Blue Shield Association Blue Cross Blue Shield Association (BCBS, BCBSA) is a federation, or supraorganization, of, in 2022, 34 independent and locally operated BCBSA companies that provide health insurance in the United States to more than 106 million people. It was ...
launched the Vaccine Community Connectors program in March 2021 to help provide COVID-19 vaccination to
senior citizens Old age refers to ages nearing or surpassing the life expectancy of human beings, and is thus the end of the human life cycle. Terms and euphemisms for people at this age include old people, the elderly (worldwide usage), OAPs (British usage ...
in at-risk and underserved communities. The program helped vaccinate more than 2 million seniors in its first 100 days. 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".


References


External links


Official website
{{Authority control Health industry trade groups based in the United States Lobbying firms Insurance industry organizations 2003 establishments in the United States