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Consumer group says 2 health insurers illegally told workers to lobby against health reform

NEW YORK (AP) -- A consumer group says health insurers UnitedHealth and WellPoint pressured their employees to contact members of Congress and lobby against health care reform proposals that the companies disagreed with.

In a letter to California Attorney General Jerry Brown, the group Consumer Watchdog maintains both companies violated state labor laws. The group said Brown should investigate the insurers based on comments they sent to employees last month, while Congress was in recess and debate about health care reform was highly publicized.

The Attorney General's office said it is reviewing the letter.

In one e-mail, Minnetonka, Minn.-based UnitedHealth Group Inc. said workers looking to get in touch with elected officials could get help from "advocacy specialists." It said employees might be contacted about the issue during business hours.

WellPoint Inc., a Blue Cross/Blue Shield operator based in Indianapolis, said most of the proposed health care legislation was not responsible or sustainable. Its e-mail asserted that the laws could cause tens of millions of Americans to lose private health coverage and end up in a government-run insurance plan. Other consequences could include limited choice for customers, and increased premiums for those with private coverage due to new mandates and coverage requirements, it said.

Both companies run their own advocacy groups -- UnitedHealth's United for Health Reform, and WellPoint's Health Action Network. United's e-mail said United for Health Reform may contact employees, and specialists would be available to help the workers craft letters to their representatives.

"By working with an advocacy specialist to personalize your message, you can quickly and easily add your voice to this historic debate," the e-mail says. The letter advises employees to attend a town hall meeting, and encourages respectful and constructive comments.

WellPoint said Wednesday it has not been contacted by the Attorney General's office and has not seen any complaint.

"We believe it is important and permissible to provide up to date information about health reform to our associates," spokeswoman Cheryl Leamon said in an e-mail to The Associated Press.

UnitedHealth, responding to a request for comment, referred to its statement last month saying it had not encouraged employees to attend "anti-reform rallies." The company said it had only provided workers with information so they could contact elected officials or attend town halls if they chose to do so.

"We have stressed repeatedly that we strongly support bipartisan reform efforts to modernize health care and improve access to quality care on a sustainable basis for all Americans," the company wrote on Aug. 20.