Insight Into the Insurance Industry

The Columbia Journalism Review recently posted an interview with Wendell Potter, a former executive with CIGNA. Although this interview is directed primarily towards writers, consumers can also gain tremendous insight into the insurance industry. For example, the insurance industry uses what they call "front groups" to oppose key pieces of legislation without having their names involved in their lobbying efforts. These front groups have innocuous sounding names, and present themselves as general business organizations, but are really driven by the insurance industry behind the scenes. The industry is using front groups right now to oppose health reform bills that include public payer options.

Also, be sure to read through the whole to find out more about the industry's powerful hold in the political sphere, as well as their obligation to maximize profits. Many people have a poor opinion of the insurance industry, and according to this insider, this opinion is well-founded.