Failure to Find Single Voice Plagues Insurance Industry (1994)

What do you have when the president of the United States, not to mention the first lady, singles you out as the bad guy? You have a big public relations problem. Clearly the insurance industry has been the focus of the administration's ire, and too many insurance companies, through their public affairs efforts, have egged the president on, said Bob Sommer, executive vice president, MWW/Strategic Communications, River Edge, NJ. Sommer referred specifically to a series of public affairs ads that one insurance group began running last fall. By flat out attacking the Clinton this |group~ showed a lack of sensitivity both to the way insurance companies are perceived by the public as well as to the fact that Clinton was willing to negotiate and deal, added Sommer. I'm not sure that health insurers are in a position to be bomb throwers. Since there are three major voices speaking for the insurance industry in the health care debate, there's a lot of room for confusion. In fact, the industry's failure to speak with a single voice may be the biggest stumbling block to getting a coherent message through to Congress and other publics. split over reform policy details among insurers simply adds to the confusion in the ongoing debate over the best way to fix the U.S. health care system. Insurance companies generally support these Clinton plan initiatives: universal coverage, guaranteed portability of coverage between jobs, and elimination of exclusions for pre-existing conditions from health insurance policies. On the other hand, they generally oppose price controls and any government mandates, whether directed against insurers, employers, or individuals. In fact, the insurance industry as a whole has taken a much more positive stance toward reforms proposed by the Clinton administration than it has to past reform proposals. Previously, the insurance lobby has been very strong in resisting change, and so has not done a very good job in building credibility, said Bob Schenkein, president, Schenkein/Sherman Public Relations, Denver, CO. But now the industry is very committed to reform. It knows the freight train is not going to stop, so it feels it had better get on. Washington, DC-based Health Insurance Association of America (HIAA) is responsible for a continuing series of aggressive ads opposed to certain provisions of the Clinton despite recent criticism of the organization's tactics by the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. In TV ads sponsored by the HIAA-formed Coalition for Health Insurance Choices, said to have more than 17,000 members, a hypothetical yuppie couple laments the loss of choice in health care. Another print ad urges consumers to call for a kit that offers advice on marshalling grassroots support and conducting a lobbying campaign. The time for heavy public relations campaigns designed to intimidate reformers by scaring the public is over, scolded Rep. Dan Rostenkowski (D-Ill.) in a Jan. 24 report by the New York Times. He had set up a meeting between HIAA and administration spokespeople. In spite of Rostenkowski's mediating efforts, HIAA, whose 270 companies provide coverage for 55 million people, went ahead with its critical ad campaign, even though it is in agreement with about 80% of Clinton's according to Dan DiFonzo, spokesperson for the HIAA. One problem for others in the insurance industry is that HIAA's adversarial position is often mistaken as representing the industry as a whole. Although there are many minor voices, there are only three major ones, each of whom speak for roughly one-third of the health insurance business: HIAA, the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, and the Alliance For Managed Competition. We have been advocates for health care reform long before it became fashionable, and have been very supportive of most of the president's plan, said Chris Molineaux, senior consultant for the Washington, DC-based Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. …