Wellpoint CEO Angela Braly said she supports health reform, but wants the focus off of health insurance and more on health care in general.

Angela F. Braly

In a speech to the Economic Club of Indiana, Braly, who heads the nation’s largest health insurer, said the debate in Washington, D.C., has shifted from discussing “health-care reform to health insurance reform,” according to the Indianapolis Star, and that she is “hopeful that conversation will turn around.”

WellPoint, based in Indianapolis, operates as Anthem Blue Cross in Virginia, outside of Northern Virginia, and as Empire Blue Cross in 10 New York City metropolitan and surrounding counties, as well as in several upstate counties in New York. The company, which also operates Blue Cross Blue Shield plans in 12 other states, is the largest private insurer based on membership.

In her speech, Braly also said a government-run public insurance program would leave private insurers at a competitive disadvantage as current programs, like Medicare and Medicaid, typically pay for medical services at a lower rate. The result, Braly said according to the report, leaves health providers to demand higher rates from companies like WellPoint and other insurers.

“You really can’t have a level playing field with government as your competitor,” Braly told the Star following her speech.

Braly also discussed WellPoint initiatives to better tie payment for medical services to quality of care, rather than the quantity, provided by doctors and hospitals, the Star said.

While Braly spoke inside, more than a dozen protesters demonstrated outside the convention center where the event was held, according to the report.