White House building support for health reform package

According to a newsletter from Aetna Insurance the White House last week continued to rail against rising health insurance premiums to help build popular support for his health care reform package. But the effort to focus the blame for rising costs on insurers was questioned, in particular, by state insurance experts and economists quoted in a New York Times story last week (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/09/health/policy/09rates.html?scp=1&sq=State%20Insurance%20Experts%20See%20Flaw%20in%20Obama%27s%20Plan%20to%20Curb%20Health%20Premiums&st=cse). Insurance commissioners said that trying to hold down premiums before costs were under control would be very risky. This approach could mean solvency issues in some cases, they told the Times. To help educate Americans about the true drivers of rising health care costs, America's Health Insurance Plans, the industry trade association, last week launched a new national ad campaign (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4O8CxZ1OD58). The ad demonstrates that health insurance company costs represent a small slice of the overall health care cost pie.