Insurer Aetna's 4Q lobbying spending up 55 pct

[The Straight Story]

Insurer Aetna's 4Q lobbying spending up 55 pct



Managed care company Aetna Inc. spent $802,573 in the final quarter of 2009 lobbying the federal government on health care reform and several other topics.

That represented a 55 percent increase in spending from the final quarter of 2008 for the Hartford, Conn., health insurer, as Congress picked up debate on a possible health system overhaul.

A large reform bill could deliver millions of new customers to health insurers, but the industry and its investors have worried about the impact the overhaul push will have, with the imposition of new taxes and coverage mandates.

Aetna's lobbying topics included reform-related proposals like one that would prevent insurers from using pre-existing conditions to exclude policyholders. Aetna also lobbied about subsidies to help people continue their employer-sponsored insurance if they leave a job, Medicare drug prices, antitrust exemptions for pharmacists and doctors, and a proposed Medicare buy-in for people ages 55 to 64.

http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D9EDB0B80.htm