Republican Congressmen Call For Hearing On Insurance Company

Republicans in the House of Representatives have already called for a hearing that would focus on the President’s decision to probe one of the country’s major insurance companies at the request of Senator Max Baucus.

The reason for the investigation is centered on a customer mailer concerning health care legislation.

Criticism from Republican Congressmen has increased ever since the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services started their examination into Humana due to Senator Baucus’ charges that the mailer misled seniors about the proposed amendments to Medicare.

Opponents suggest that the administration was penalizing the insurer because it criticized the health-care plan. It also served as a warning to other insurance companies that might have been thinking about voicing their own concerns. Some Republicans are comparing the probe to a gag order meant to silence criticisms against Obama’s ideas about health care reform.

The Department of Health and Human Services targeted Humana initially, but it also sent out a broad directive to all Medicare Advantage participants. This was essentially a mandate to discontinue all such mailings and remove any such material from participating web sites.

Some characterize it as a move to silence opposition to the president’s Medicare cuts. Minority members of the House Ways and Means Committee drafted a letter to Chairman Charles Rangel requesting a special hearing to investigate allegations that the CMS’s decision to eliminate the flow of facts between private insurance plans and enrollees were politically motivated.

According to the mailer, programs like Medicare need to be made more efficient, but the proposed funding cuts would cause millions of enrolled seniors and disabled citizens to loose important benefits that come with the Medicare Advantage health plans. The mailer also suggested that senior citizens sign up with Humana to receive updates on the status of legislation and contact legislators for more information. Fears that the spending cuts would cause benefits reductions may be legitimized.

At the same time, Democrats maintained their position that Humana had made false claims. They also said that Republicans were demonstrating their bias towards the insurance companies.