Over the weekend, the Associated Press broke the news that the drug industry plans to support Obama’s health care proposal. Despite the nasty adjectives the White House has used to describe them in recent months, Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRMA) will run TV ads in favor of “Obamacare” that will cost at least $150 million.

The media has done a good job explaining what the two groups have to gain from this unlikely alliance.  The White House needs all the help it can get as conservative groups ramp up opposition and Obama’s poll numbers on health care sink. PhRMA doesn’t want to renegotiate Medicare drug prices. But who are the key players who made this deal happen?  And how are they connected? The LittleSis database gives us a few interesting answers.

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If you’ve turned on the TV this morning you know the networks can’t stop talking about “gold-plated Cadillac plans,” insurance coverage that costs upwards of $10,000 more than the national average.

Senator Kerry has proposed taxing the insurance companies that offer them in order to raise money for universal health coverage. The New York Times reported earlier this week that Kerry’s proposal has thus far received favorable reviews from many congressional leaders, including the wishy-washy Max Baucus.

Yet most other news outlets are telling another story. They have chosen to highlight the detrimental effects of Kerry’s proposal for the middle class and union workers and question it’s ability to raise sufficient funds. Problem is, the stories published by a variety of news outlets (think everyone from FOX News to NPR) all feature the same main characters. And most have ties to health insurance companies.

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A few weeks ago, we set out to build a list of congressional-staffers-turned-health care lobbyists. With the help of some incredible citizen journalists at the Huffington Post Investigative Unit, our list of lobbyists has grown exponentially this week. Here are a few trends we’ve found thus far.

Where they work
Three lobbying firms have acquired a good number of staffers who have worked in congressional offices with close ties to the health care industry. For example, Cassidy & Associates employs former Olympia Snowe staffer Arran Haynes and Mehlman, Vogel & Castagnetti has picked up Chuck Grassley’s former health policy aid Colette Desmarais.  Greenberg Traurig has also acquired a good number of folks who have worked on the Hill.  These firms represent companies including AHIP, Humana and Community Health Systems. Having Hill heavyweights on their staff sure has made these firms attractive picks for the health care industry.

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Two weeks ago we started taking a closer look at America’s Health Insurance Plans, or AHIP. Since the organization’s website had no staff listing, we asked a simple question: who works for AHIP?

There’s still plenty of work to be done in filling out the profiles of the movers and shakers at the insurance industry lobby — board members, staff, and lobbyists on contract — and that work will continue, in addition to the research we’re collaborating on with the Huffington Post Investigative Fund. For now, here are some basic observations about the names and faces behind AHIP.

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The healthcare reform fight is heating up on Capitol Hill, pitting the health insurance industry, big pharma, the docs, the hospitals, the medical tech industry, and the biotech industry against…well, I’m not exactly sure. A very scary coalition of uninsured people, the middle class, unions, and liberal think tanks? Perhaps the lines are not so clearly drawn, as the AMA has been unclear about its position on the public option (a government health insurance plan).

One group that is clear in its opposition to the most significant reforms on the table is America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP). Led by Karen Ignagni, AHIP is the main lobby for the health insurance industry. According to the Globe, Ignagni has been doing a decent job of convincing people that her lobby is not pure evil. She has also paid off quite a few politicians, says the Center for Responsive Politics in a recent blog post.

There’s no question who AHIP works for, though there’s some question as to who works for AHIP. Yesterday, noticing that Ignagni and the AHIP board had been added to LittleSis, but no other staff, I tried to find out who the key staffers at AHIP are, other than Ignagni.

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