America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) is a national political advocacy and trade association with about 1,300 member companies that sell health insurance coverage to more than 200 million Americans.[1] AHIP was formed through the merger of Health Insurance Association of America (HIAA) and American Association of Health Plans (AAHP).[2][3][4][5] AAHP was formed through a merger between two Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) trade associations, Group Health Association of America and American Managed Care and Review Association.citation needed
In 2006, AHIP spent over US$7 million on lobbying.[6], and its 2005 television ad "Shark Bait" drew harsh criticism for its claim that "lawsuit abuse" by American trial lawyers cost the typical American family US$1,200 a year.[7]
The AHIP Center for Policy and Research is the trade association's research arm.[8] The center publishes research on a variety of forms of private health insurance, often based on survey data gathered from AHIP member companies. The forms of insurance studied include disability income and long-term care insurance as well as different types of medical expense insurance.
AHIP President Karen M. Ignagni[9] frequently serves as a spokesperson for the views of the insurance industry,[10] recently taping an episode of The Oprah Winfrey Show opposite Michael Moore to discuss Sicko.[11] In response to a past statement by Senator Hillary Clinton that insurance companies "spend tens of billions of dollars a year figuring out how not to cover people" and "how to cherry-pick the healthiest persons, and leave everyone else out in the cold", Ignagni asserted the AHIP endorses the goal of universal coverage, that insurers deny only 3 percent of claims, and that many of those are for experimental procedures that employers do not cover.[12]
