Overheard: ‘The insurance industry is being very unfairly characterized’

AHIP President Karen Ignagni may send David St. Clair a thank you note this week. On his blog  last week, St. Clair, founder and CEO of MEDecision, defended the health insurance industry against charges from the White House and other lawmakers that carriers were throwing up roadblocks in the health care reform debate, following an AHIP report that showed average premium increases of some 40% if the reform bill being considered by the Senate Finance Committee should pass.

“Just because a certain entity, in this case the health insurance industry, doesn’t agree with every last detail of the proposed reform measures doesn’t mean it is against reform altogether,” St. Clair wrote. “In fact, I believe the insurance industry is being very unfairly characterized as obstructionist when, actually, it has eagerly endorsed reform for quite some time. AHIP president Karen Ignagni rather eloquently makes this point, along with a number of other worthwhile ones, in an Oct. 20 Washington Post article.”

What do you think, pros? Are you with St. Clair on Team AHIP? Or with the administration on Team WH?