{"id":2525942,"date":"2025-12-29T05:54:02","date_gmt":"2025-12-29T10:54:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/insurance-firms-schmooze-gop-while-records-show-leftward-drift\/"},"modified":"2025-12-29T05:55:35","modified_gmt":"2025-12-29T10:55:35","slug":"insurance-firms-schmooze-gop-while-records-show-leftward-drift","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/insurance-firms-schmooze-gop-while-records-show-leftward-drift\/","title":{"rendered":"Insurance firms schmooze GOP while records show leftward drift"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Finsurance-firms-schmooze-gop-while-records-show-leftward-drift%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2525942&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Health insurance companies that long favored Republican candidates have been shifting their PAC contributions toward Democrats in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/rumors-amp-up-around-potential-pompeo-2024-white-house-run\/\" title=\"Rumors Amp Up Around Potential Pompeo 2024 White House Run\">recent election cycles<\/a> even as thay intensify lobbying of GOP lawmakers over Obamacare policy.OpenSecrets data show firms like Humana and Elevance moved from giving roughly twice as much to Republicans between 2000-2012 to much more evenly split-or even Democrat-leaning-gifts by 2018-2024; UnitedHealth and Centene have been more mixed or steady. Simultaneously occurring,insurers are spending heavily on lobbyists and hiring former Republican staff and operatives to persuade centrist GOP members to support extending enhanced ACA premium tax credits. That extension is politically fraught-Speaker Mike Johnson opposed a floor vote, though a handful of Republicans joined Democrats to force one-and insurers have also made strategic donations (for example, Elevance to Johnson&#8217;s joint fundraising committee). Critics say the subsidies mainly boost insurer profits at taxpayer expense; the industry counters that ending them would raise costs and harm rural areas. Major firms did not respond to requests for comment.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">Health insurers drift leftward in campaign donations even as they seek to sway GOP<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2450449\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>Insurance lobbyists are working hard on Capitol Hill in an attempt to sway centrist Republicans into their camp as party leadership expresses strong skepticism toward extending enhanced <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/affordable-care-act\/\">Obamacare subsidies<\/a>. As these lobbyists take meetings with GOP staffers and members, however, they likely aren&rsquo;t mentioning the fact that the firms paying them millions to advance their interests have shifted their campaign contributions toward the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/democrat\/\">Democratic Party<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Humana, the <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >fourth-largest health insurance firm<\/a> in the nation, for instance, historically favored Republicans through its PAC contributions between 2000 and 2012 by nearly two-to-one margins, <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.opensecrets.org\/political-action-committees-pacs\/humana-inc\/C00271007\/summary\/2024\">according <\/a>to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/records-sen-lisa-murkowski-funded-by-lower-48-donors-despite-her-criticism-of-outside-influence\/\" title=\"Records: Sen. Lisa Murkowski Funded By Lower-48 Donors Despite Her Criticism Of Outside Influence\">campaign finance data compiled<\/a> by OpenSecrets. During 2012, a particularly favorable year for the GOP, for instance, Humana&rsquo;s PAC gave $413,000 to Republicans and just under $210,000 to Democrats.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>In 2014, however, the gap between Humana&rsquo;s financial support for Republicans and Democrats slipped, a trend that continued into 2016 and 2018, then culminated in 2020 with a near reversal when the firm&rsquo;s PAC opted to give more than $300,000 to Democrats and just over $200,000 to Republicans. Humana&rsquo;s giving in 2020 and 2024 was roughly evenly split between parties, a far cry from its past support for the GOP.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Elevance Health, in a similar vein, strongly supported Republicans between 2000 and 2012, often giving the GOP more than twice what it gave Democrats during a given cycle, campaign finance records <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.opensecrets.org\/political-action-committees-pacs\/elevance-health\/C00197228\/summary\/2024\">show<\/a>. The most extreme instance of this came in 2010, when Elevance&rsquo;s PAC gave Republicans $529,000 and Democrats just under $160,000. As with Humana, Elevance&rsquo;s PAC contributions have become more evenly distributed in recent years, even favoring Democrats between 2018 and 2022.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Major insurance companies give strategically. Elevance, for instance, <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fiercehealthcare.com\/payers\/elevance-health-centene-donated-trump-inaugural-fund\">has given<\/a> $25,000 to House Speaker Mike Johnson&rsquo;s (R-LA) joint fundraising committee.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) talks briefly to reporters just before a vote on an interim spending bill to prevent a government shutdown after President-elect Donald Trump abruptly rejected a bipartisan plan at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Dec. 19, 2024. The vote failed to pass. (AP Photo\/J. Scott Applewhite)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Johnson has proven to be a considerable obstacle to the interests of insurance companies, possibly explaining their desire to be in his good graces.<\/p>\n<p>Before lawmakers returned home for the holidays, the speaker <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/congress-health-care-speaker-johnson-228dde6760bbd2cf98be8f2e676bf175\">made it clear<\/a> that he opposed a floor vote on the extension of the added Obamacare subsidies. Four Republicans, however, broke ranks with their party to join Democrats in forcing a vote. These defections indicate that insurance lobbyists could sway enough GOP representatives to save the COVID-19 era enhanced subsidies for the Obamacare exchanges.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The duo of insurance companies, like most firms with business before Congress, hires individuals with connections to Republican lawmakers so that they can frame their concerns in language that conservative representatives find compelling.&nbsp;Lobbying disclosures <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.opensecrets.org\/federal-lobbying\/clients\/summary?cycle=2025&amp;id=D000000652\">indicate<\/a> <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.opensecrets.org\/federal-lobbying\/clients\/summary?id=D000024670\"><\/a>major insurance firms are <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.opensecrets.org\/federal-lobbying\/clients\/summary?id=D000034986\">paying <\/a>lobbyists hundreds of thousands of dollars every month to shape policy in this way.<\/p>\n<p>Not all insurance companies have had the same giving trajectory as Elevance and Humana.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>UnitedHealth Group&rsquo;s PAC favored the Democratic Party between 2008 and 2010, but since then, it has consistently given Republicans <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.opensecrets.org\/political-action-committees-pacs\/unitedhealth-group\/C00274431\/summary\/2024\">slightly more money<\/a> than their Democratic rivals each electoral cycle. Centene Corporation, meanwhile, has always been <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.opensecrets.org\/political-action-committees-pacs\/centene-corp\/C00397851\/summary\/2024\">relatively even-handed<\/a> in its PAC contributions.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/investigations\/4356816\/marijuana-companies-spent-millions-lobbying-trump-rescheduling-order\/\">MARIJUANA COMPANIES SPENT MILLIONS ON LOBBYING AHEAD OF TRUMP RESCHEDULING ORDER<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The stakes of the ongoing healthcare debates are high for insurance companies.<\/p>\n<p>Conservative critics of the Obamacare subsidies <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/paragoninstitute.org\/paragon-pic\/insurer-stock-prices-soaring-after-giant-aca-subsidies\/#:~:text=than%20425%20percent.-,Insurers%20reaping%20benefits%20of%20massive%20subsidies%20through%20the%20ACA%20exchanges,than%20those%20of%20third%2Dparties.\">claim <\/a>that they serve to pad the profits of insurance companies at the expense of taxpayers. Allies of the insurance industry, meanwhile, <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ahip.org\/news\/articles\/rural-america-faces-a-crisis-if-congress-fails-to-extend-the-health-care-tax-credits\">maintain <\/a>that failing to extend the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/bidens-chief-economic-advisor-wont-counter-bidens-false-claim-of-19-million-jobs-from-bill\/\" title=\"Biden\u2019s Chief Economic Advisor Won\u2019t Counter Biden\u2019s False Claim Of 19 Million Jobs From Bill\">expanded tax credits<\/a> for coverage will lead to increased healthcare costs, particularly in rural America.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Humana, UnitedHealth, Elevance, and Centene Corporation did not respond to requests for comment.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Insurers shift donations left while courting GOP<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":894,"featured_media":2525943,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/crypto-week-advances.webp?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[33926,55594,6203,8322,4198],"class_list":["post-2525942","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-campaign-finance","tag-corporate-politics","tag-gop","tag-insurance","tag-lobbying"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/crypto-week-advances.webp?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2525942","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/894"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2525942"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2525942\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2525946,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2525942\/revisions\/2525946"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2525943"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2525942"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2525942"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2525942"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}