UnitedHealth Group spent $660k in first quarter lobbying federal government

UnitedHealth Group spent $660k lobbying in 1Q

WASHINGTON — Health insurer UnitedHealth Group Inc. dialed down its spending on federal government lobbying in the first quarter, even as Congress finalized a health care reform bill that aims to cover millions of uninsured people.

The Minnetonka, Minn., insurer spent $660,000 in the January to March period, down from $1.5 million in the first quarter of 2009, according to a report filed with the Clerk of the House of Representatives.

This year, UnitedHealth lobbied on the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the Health Insurance Industry Fair Competition Act and the American Workers, State, and Business Relief Act of 2010. It also lobbied on the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2009.

Aside from Congress, UnitedHealth also lobbied the U.S. departments of Labor, Treasury and Health and Human Services.

Among those lobbying for UnitedHealth were Joelle Thornhill, a former staff member of the House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee; Cory Alexander, a former special assistant to the White House North American Free Trade Agreement counselor and former employee of the office of the Democratic Whip and Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md.; Sohini Gupta Jindal, a former staffer for Sen. Evan Bayh, D-Ind.; and Robyn Lippert, a former employee of the office of Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., and the Senate Judiciary Committee.

UnitedHealth is the largest publicly traded health insurer based on revenue. It also operates segments that sell wellness programs and information services, aside from commercial and government-based coverage.