Karen Ignani defends the AHIP/PricewaterhouseCoopers study on the Baucus bill in the Washington Post today, but also makes the case the insurers “continue to strongly support reform.” Given the Democrats’ visceral attacks on the report, it’s clear why she feels the need to do so. This weekend, for example, President Obama attacked the industry and its research paper — although without mentioning anyone by name — saying: “Of course, like clockwork, we’ve seen folks on cable television who know better, waving these industry-funded studies in the air. We’ve seen industry insiders – and their apologists – citing these studies as proof of claims that just aren’t true.”

The Ignani piece is a good effort, but I remain skeptical about its ability to mollify Democrats angry about the anti-Baucus study.