United Healthcare Tells Employees to Oppose Public Option and Cost Reforms, Demand Tougher Requirement for Consumers to Buy Private Insurance; CIGNA Urges Similar Employee Action
The nation's largest health insurance company, United Healthcare, launched a new push this week to get employees to directly lobby U.S. Senators for weaker health reform and higher insurer profits. The new campaign, in an e-mail sent to all employees Nov. 10, offers employees template letters to send from company computers on company time and urges them to write grassroots-style letters to the editor to local newspapers. Consumer Watchdog, which obtained the letters, called on the Senate and newspapers to reject this deceptive corporate-directed campaign.
(See the letters and company instructions for letters to the editor at end of news release or at http://www.ConsumerWatchdog.org/resources/UnitedHealthCare11-12-09.pdf )
The form letters call on the Senate to resist any publicly financed health care option, prevent financial reform of bloated payments to private Medicare Advantage insurance plans and enact tougher penalties on Americans who fail to buy private insurance.
The instructions for writing a local letter to the editor do not suggest that employees identify themselves as UHC employees, only that they "share their unique perspective."
Health insurer Cigna also sent out a companywide e-mail urging employees to contact lawmakers. Its talking points remain behind an internal e-mail barrier.
(See Cigna excerpts below.)
This is United Healthcare's second major push to persuade employees to lobby on behalf of the company. Consumer Watchdog protested the first campaign in September as undue and possibly illegal political pressure on employees. The company's new campaign states more strongly that the lobbying campaign is voluntary. However, the company has access to email sent by employees, and it explicitly tells employees to "share a copy with us" of any letters to the editor. The company is likely tracking employee responses to the internal email request, said Consumer Watchdog.
The message sent to all employees also says: "It is important that we, as members of the health care industry and as individuals, make our voices heard on this important issue. Therefore, we encourage you to actively participate in this debate as both industry voices as well as individuals. Please take action by writing a letter to your elected officials in Washington."
Consumer Watchdog said the request is intimidating.
"No United HealthCare employee would modify the lobbying letter to favor Medicare-for-All, or even a modest public option, knowing that his or her managers may be reading that e-mail," said Judy Dugan, research director of the nonprofit, nonpartisan Consumer Watchdog. "They wouldn't dare to speak against the company position unless they've already got a new job lined up."
Here are selected excerpts from the United HealthCare employee lobbying letters.