The health insurance industry is beginning a ferocious lobbying offensive aimed at warding off major cuts to Medicare payments. Insurers are hoping to block a 2.2 percent cut in government payments to the privately administered Medicare plans known as Medicare Advantage. The industry has pulled out all the stops for the campaign, which includes inside-the-Beltway lobbying as well as efforts to put local pressure on lawmakers who hail from states where Medicare Advantage plans are popular. The latest move from insurers is a new television ad that will begin to run Wednesday in the Washington area before expanding to local markets.
