Money talks: Insurance industry bets on Republican presidential candidates
October 26th, 2011
Kevin Lyons
Political action committees (PACs) in the insurance industry and employees of insurance companies have given Republican presidential candidates nearly three times as much in donations as they’ve given to President Obama.
Even though Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign fundraising of nearly $ 90 million exceeds that all of the Republican candidates combined, insurance industry donors favor GOP hopefuls Mitt Romney and Rick Perry over Democratic incumbent Obama, according to data from the Federal Election Commission and the nonprofit Center for Responsive Politics. The figures were released in October 2011.
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“Insurance has always been, by and large, a Republican-leaning industry,” says Michael Beckell, a spokesman for the Center for Responsive Politics.
Total donations top $ 1 million
During the current election cycle, the insurance industry has donated $ 1.08 million to presidential campaigns, according to campaign finance reports filed with the election commission. That’s less than 1 percent of the candidates’ total haul.
Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, has pulled in $ 336,083 from insurance PACs, as well as individual PAC members, insurance executives and insurance employees as of the third quarter of 2011, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. In 2006, Romney signed a law that mandated Massachusetts residents obtain minimum amounts of health insurance, similar to the federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act signed by Obama.
Perry, the Texas governor, is second in insurance industry donations ($ 320,950). Obama is third ($ 294,959), although he’s in second place behind Romney in donations from health insurers.
So far, none of the other presidential candidates has taken in more than $ 35,000 from insurance interests.
‘Money follows power’
Most insurance company donations have gone to U.S. House and Senate members and candidates, rather than to presidential hopefuls. House Republicans have raked in $ 7.3 million from insurance sources during this campaign season, with House Democrats collecting $ 4.7 million, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
“Money follows power,” Beckell says. “So, as we saw Republicans gaining more control of Congress this year, there has been more money going to Republicans than during the 2008 election cycle. Interest groups across the board want to find the lawmakers and decision-makers who invest in their bottom line, and they make strategic investments in those notable politicians … that will have the most sway.”
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| Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney barely leads the race for campaign contributions from the insurance sector. |
The five insurance interests whose PACs or employees have raised the most money this year for political causes are New York Life Insurance ($ 809,350), Aflac Inc. ($ 535,300), Blue Cross Blue Shield ($ 493,688), Independent Insurance Agents & Brokers of America ($ 438,688) and USAA ($ 385,295).
The insurance industry’s support for Republican politicians should come as no surprise. Even though Obama’s Affordable Care Act mandates health insurance for most consumers – thus bringing more business to health insurance companies – many of these same companies don’t like the portion of the plan requiring insurers to publicly justify unreasonable rate hikes and prohibiting insurers from placing limits on annual health benefits.
“It’s a double-edged sword,” Beckell says, “because health insurers are happy with the individual mandate, but every major Republican candidate for president wants to repeal the act.”
Grassroots donors
Individual donations are limited to $ 2,500 per candidate, and PAC donations are capped at $ 5,000 per candidate. Bundlers – those who’ve maxed out on individual donations – can donate unlimited amounts to campaigns by rounding up contributions from friends, co-workers and others. Because of contribution limits, organizations that bundle many contributions often are among the top donors to presidential candidates.
Among individual donors representing major health insurers, employees from the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association and its WellPoint affiliate were the most generous, with $ 31,670 going to 2012 presidential candidates, including $ 11,250 to former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, $ 10,000 to Romney and $ 8,218 to Obama, according to an InsuranceQuotes.com analysis of campaign finance reports filed with the Federal Election Commission.
Aetna’s employees gave $ 11,011 in donations, followed by employees of Cigna ($ 9,965) and Humana ($ 5,569).
Among individual donors representing major property or life insurance companies, employees of USAA have been the biggest players, donating $ 44,912 to 2012 presidential candidates, including $ 44,100 to Perry. USAA is based in Texas, Perry’s home state.
Employees from Northwestern Mutual ($ 21,374) and State Farm ($ 20,684) also have made significant donations to presidential candidates.
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