WASHINGTON — Seven months ago, insurance companies vowed to be allies in President Obama’s effort to revamp health care, with one industry leader later telling Congress that “health insurance reform needs to be done this year.”
But as an $829 billion, 10-year health care bill approved by the Senate Finance Committee moves toward debate by the full Senate this month, the insurance industry and the Obama administration are increasingly at odds over key provisions in the bill.
Recent squabbles between the White House and the industry, which intensified over the weekend, underscore the potential pitfalls for Obama’s broad plan to reshape health care. Insurers helped kill a similar effort 15 years ago with the “Harry and Louise” advertising campaign.