Posted by Sharon on 4/12/10

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PBS info:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/obamasdeal/

National Journal about the health insurer/ Chamber funding:
http://undertheinfluence.nationaljournal.com/2010/01/health-
insurers-funded-chamber.php
Health Insurers Funded Chamber Attack Ads
By Peter H. Stone

Updated at 10:30 am 1/13/10

Just as dealings with the Obama administration and
congressional Democrats soured last summer, six of the
nation's biggest health insurers began quietly pumping big
money into third-party television ads aimed at killing or
significantly modifying the major health reform bills
moving through Congress.

That money, between $10 million and $20 million, came from
Aetna, Cigna, Humana, Kaiser Foundation Health Plans,
UnitedHealth Group and Wellpoint, according to two health
care lobbyists familiar with the transactions. The
companies are all members of the powerful trade group
America's Health Insurance Plans.

The funds were solicited by AHIP and funneled to the U.S.
Chamber of Commerce to help underwrite tens of millions of
dollars of television ads by two business coalitions set up
and subsidized by the chamber. Each insurer kicked in at
least $1 million and some gave multimillion-dollar
donations.

"There's no question that AHIP has quietly solicited monies
from their members which were funneled over to the chamber
for their ads," said a source. The total donated by the
health insurers, according to one estimate, was as much as
one-quarter of the chamber's total health care advertising
budget.

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