Health insurer Humana Inc. more than doubled the amount it spent lobbying the federal government in the final quarter of 2009, as the health care overhaul debate heated up in Congress.
The Louisville, Ky., insurer spent $1.3 million in the fourth quarter, compared with the $510,000 it spent in the final quarter of 2008, according to a lobbying report filed with the Clerk of the House of Representatives.
Humana lobbied on the Affordable Health Care for America Act, the health care overhaul measure debated in the House of Representatives.
A large reform bill like that and one being considered in the Senate could deliver millions of new customers to health insurers. But the industry has worried about the impact the overhaul push will have with the imposition of new taxes and coverage mandates, among other concerns.
Humana sells commercial health insurance and Medicare Advantage plans. It also administers Medicaid coverage and provides coverage through the military's Tricare program.
In the fourth quarter, it also lobbied on Tricare issues, obesity and disease prevention, and the Medicare Physician Fairness Act of 2009, among other topics and bills.
Besides Congress, Humana lobbied the White House, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Department of Defense in the October-December period.
Jill Canino, a former professional staff member of the Senate Aging Committee, was among those lobbying on the company's behalf.
Copyright 2010 AP News
