UnitedHealth Group, the nation's largest health insurance carrier, is urging its employees to lobby the Senate against reform proposals that would hurt the firm's bottom line. Minnesota-based UnitedHealth Group e-mailed its 75,000 employees asking them to write their senators and local newspapers in opposition to a public insurance option, alleging that "government-run healthcare" will force "millions of Americans" to drop their current coverage. Proposed form letters from the company also lay out opposition to cuts in the Medicare Advantage program and advocate higher financial penalties for individuals who do not buy health insurance. Consumer Watchdog, a California-based advocacy group, says the campaign amounts to intimidation of employees of UnitedHealth Group and its main operating division, UnitedHealthcare.
