Democrats target insurers ahead of health summit

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Democrats targeted health insurers and wary Republicans braced for a political showdown on Wednesday ahead of a White House summit that President Barack Obama hopes will spark momentum for a broad healthcare overhaul.
Republicans questioned the motive for Thursday's day-long summit and Democrats turned up the pressure on the health insurance industry with a hearing on a recent premium increase by insurer WellPoint Inc and a planned House of Representatives vote on repealing its antitrust exemption.
Democrats called the recent premium increases for some Anthem Blue Cross customers in California a function of greed rather than need and said they highlighted the importance of reform.
"Unless Congress and the administration act, Americans across the country will continue to experience large premium increases and will be priced out of the market," said Representative Bart Stupak, head of the House Energy and Commerce oversight panel.
The summit on Thursday brings together leaders of both parties in a last-gasp effort to revive a sweeping healthcare overhaul that has stalled in the U.S. Congress amid broad public dissatisfaction and unified Republican opposition.
The meeting follows Obama's release on Monday of a new healthcare plan amid signals he is prepared to try to jam the bill through Congress using a procedure that would bypass the need for Republican support.
"In light of all these behind-the-scenes efforts to get around the will of the people, it's hard to imagine what the purpose of Thursday's summit is," Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell said.
Summit negotiations have touched on everything from the list of attendees to the shape of the table. The meeting will be broken into sections to discuss controlling costs, insurance reforms, deficit reduction and expanding coverage, the White House said.
Republicans said they will focus on a scaled-back approach that would boost competition across state lines and curtail medical malpractice lawsuits.

'NOTHING TO TALK ABOUT'
But if Republicans insist Democrats should scrap the existing bills and start over "then there is nothing to talk about," Democratic Senator Chris Dodd said.
The Democratic-controlled House and Senate passed sweeping bills last year designed to reshape the $2.5 trillion healthcare industry by cutting costs, regulating insurers and expanding coverage to tens of millions of Americans.
But efforts to merge them and send a final version to Obama collapsed in January after Democrats lost their crucial 60th vote in a special U.S. Senate election in Massachusetts.
McConnell and other Republicans condemned any Democratic effort to pass the bill through a process called reconciliation, which requires a simple majority in the 100-member Senate rather than the usual 60 votes needed to clear procedural hurdles.
McConnell called reconciliation "a last-ditch sleight of hand" and Eric Cantor, the No. 2 House Republican, published a memo casting doubt on whether House Democrats can still muster a simple majority to support healthcare.
Cantor noted the bill passed the House in November with three votes to spare, and the measure has lost at least four votes since then through retirement, death and a change of heart by the only Republican to support it in November.
"House Democrats are farther away from securing the votes to pass a government health care bill today than they have ever been," Cantor said.
Many Democrats fear reconciliation would spark a costly political backlash heading into congressional elections in November that could erase Democratic majorities in Congress.
The White House, which has not publicly endorsed the strategy, reiterated the summit was designed to elicit ideas and find areas of agreement with Republicans. It said Obama's new proposal was not meant to be the final word on the issue.
"At Thursday's bipartisan meeting, the president will continue to work with members of both parties to find common ground and look for the best ideas that will help American families and small business owners have greater control over their own health care," Nancy-Ann DeParle, director of the White House Office of Health Reform said in an e-mail.
Democrats on Wednesday focused on the health insurance industry, which has taken a pummeling from the White House and Democrats in recent weeks since the premium increases announced by Anthem Blue Cross in California.
Health insurer stocks stayed steady nevertheless, with the Morgan Stanley Healthcare Payor index up 0.5 percent in early afternoon trade.
WellPoint Chief Executive Officer Angela Braly defended the increases and said they reflected higher costs from hospitals and doctors. "Raising our premiums was not something we wanted to do -- but we believe this was the most prudent choice," Braly said.
The House also planned a vote on a measure that would remove the federal antitrust exemption for the insurance industry, a move Democrats said would increase competition and help shine a light on industry practices.