The AFL-CIO wants insurance commissioners in four states to investigate whether rising health care premiums are the result of lobbying efforts by major insurers against widespread reform.

In a letter to regulators in Connecticut, Indiana, New York and Pennsylvania, AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka calls for an inquiry into the matter as laws in each state require insurance regulator approval for rate changes. In addition, two of the four largest insurers in the nation are headquartered in these states: WellPoint in Indiana and CIGNA in Pennsylvania.

Richard Trumka

In the letter, Trumka says the health insurance industry’s lobbying efforts “have clearly impacted consumers’ health care costs.”

“We believe that health insurance providers’ lobbying expenditures have led to excessive rate hikes,” he said, seeking the review of lobbying expenditures prior to any requested rate increases.

Trumka highlights the activity of Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield, which the AFL-CIO says requested a rate increase of 30% in Connecticut, while spending more than $9.5 million in lobbying efforts. The union also says UnitedHealthcare recently proposed to increase the premium for its Medicare supplemental insurance while spending more than $2.6 million on lobbying in the first half of 2009.

The AFL-CIO points out that over the last decade, premiums for employer-based health insurance rose 120% while the industry spent more than $3.5 billion on lobbying activities.

Pro-reform, anti-public option

Chris Curran, a spokesman for CIGNA, told IFAwebnews.com “premium increases are a result of claims experience and are not related to health care reform.”

“The fact of the matter is that we agree with the President’s goal of expanding access, controlling costs, and improving the quality of care, [but] we do not see how that can be accomplished through a government-sponsored plan,” Curran said. “CIGNA and the industry have already put forth a plan that requires and guarantees coverage for everyone, including for people with pre-existing conditions, strengthens the safety net so that no one falls through and provides subsidies for those who can’t afford it, without adding to the debt burden of the country.”

A spokeswoman for WellPoint said to suggest a link between premium increases and lobbying “is simply not true.”

“Premium increases are a result of higher health care costs, increased utilization by members and increased prescription drug costs,” Cheryl Leamon of WellPoint told IFAwebnews.com. “WellPoint’s lobbying efforts account for less than one half of one percent of members’ premium dollars.”

In addition to the premium-lobbying link, the AFL-CIO is also calling for an investigation into UnitedHealthcare and WellPoint/Anthem for “forcing employees to attend captive audience meetings intended to pressure them into helping their employers oppose pending health insurance reform legislation,” according to a statement.

Earlier this month, consumer advocacy group Consumer Watchdog accused the two insurers of having employees use their work hours to lobby Congress against health care reform, seeking an investigation by the California Attorney General’s Office.