Health Care Overhaul Still in ‘Happy Talk’ Stage

America’s Health Insurance Plans, a trade association representing some 1,300 insurers, is planning a springtime initiative in at least 10 to 15 states, said AHIP spokesman Robert Zirkelbach. The initiative will include town hall-type meetings, similar to forums in eight cities that the group held over the summer. The organization has also launched a separate campaign Web site to promote “affordable private coverage” with “a strong safety net.” The group says the multi-million-dollar campaign is its largest in a decade. The AHIP campaign has built a database of about 100,000 members that it regularly e-mails with updates from Washington. Many recipients are industry employees or participants from the town hall forums, often invited at the suggestion of local chambers of commerce. AHIP officials working on the campaign include grass-roots coordinator Beth Leonard, who previously worked as New Hampshire state director for the presidential campaign of Democrat John Edwards, and L.D. Platt, a former aide for the National Republican Congressional Committee.

Gearing up for battle among advocates for a more robust federal role in universal coverage is Health Care for America Now, a coalition backed by left-leaning interest groups. That group staged protests at the AHIP forums and at insurers’ offices throughout the country, alleging that insurers are harming the quality of health care. Its e-mails reach about 50,000 people, although the group says it has the ability to contact about 7 million online through its member organizations.

Obviously we are going to have to do our best to co-opt HCAN't. We want to be at these town halls with single payer posters and material.

If you are a member of your local chamber of commerce, please approach the program committee about doing a meeting on single payer. Invite one of the local single payer groups to present.