UnitedHealth Group trims lobbying to $650K in 2Q

WASHINGTON -- Health insurer UnitedHealth Group Inc. again dialed down its spending on federal lobbying in the second quarter, as it focused mostly on issues tied to the recently passed health care reform bill.

The Minnetonka, Minn., insurer spent $650,000 in the April to June period, or 40 percent less than its total of about $1.1 million in the same quarter last year. The amount also dropped slightly from the $660,000 it spent in the first quarter.

Congress passed health care reform, which aims to cover millions of uninsured people, in March and insurers have been working to shape the law since then, as various elements of it are finalized.

Aside from the reform law, UnitedHealth also lobbied on the Hiring Incentives to Restore Employment Act, the American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act of 2010 and the Health Insurance Industry Fair Competition Act.

UnitedHealth lobbied Congress and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Among those lobbying for the insurer 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 and second-largest based on enrollment, trailing only WellPoint Inc. It also operates segments that sell wellness programs and information services, aside from commercial and government-based coverage.