Fellow Travelers

We in the media are often more than happy to be co-conspirators with special-interest groups.

Here's how the insurance industry's top lobbying group describes health reform "breaking news" on its own blog this morning:

"The Washington Post has a breaking-news story about the negative impact of the the Senate Finance Committee's bill on health care costs."

Another headline reads:

"The Associated Press is out with another story on the new PricewaterhouseCoopers' report highlighting the increased costs for individuals and families as a result of proposals from the Senate Finance Committee."

The news, of course, was generated by the trade group America's Health Insurance Plans in a well-orchestrated campaign to highlight an industry-funded report. The insurers are pushing back on proposals in a Senate committee bill to add billions in annual fees for companies and a new tax on premium "Cadillac" health plans. The insurance companies also are critical of the Senate bill, saying it lacks teeth to require all Americans to buy health insurance. These added costs will be passed on to consumers, the insurers vow. The companies argue that their own market reforms will fix the system.

The "news" today: The trade group is sending its member companies a Pricewaterhouse report saying families will spend thousands more a year if the Senate committee's version of health reform is passed. It's well timed as the Senate panel prepares this week to vote on the reform bill being attacked. Following the headlines from the Post and AP, America's Health Insurance Plans provides nine industry-positive statements from the two stories.

In both stories, the White House and Democrats are quoted dismissing the industry-funded study, but the insurer's group highlighted the comments it found favorable, getting exactly what it was after: media placement as well as the quotes to provide fodder for antireform ads.

Here's a good one from the Post: "The report makes clear that several major provisions in the current legislative proposal will cause health care costs to increase far faster and higher than they would under the current system."

[Meanwhile, the White House today blasted the report (not the media reports, mind you, but the study funded by America's Health Insurance Plans). "This is a self-serving analysis from the insurance industry, one of the major opponents of health insurance reform," said Linda Douglass, spokeswoman with the Office of Health Reform. "It comes on the eve of a vote that will reduce the industry's profits. It is hard to take it seriously.]

To be sure, the media love stories about the average family being hit in the pocketbook by government. It's just an interesting show of sympathy for such a controversial debate (not to sound like Joe McCarthy).